Smoke rose in soft tendrils, circling about in the air before slowly dissipating back into nothingness, leaving only the sweet smell of spice behind in its wake. The smell of the spice was coupled with the lasting scent of whatever had been cooked only an hour before, the dishes still on the dining room table, having been ignored while the woman responsible for them sat in her favorite chair and attempted to forget her troubles. She took another drag, slow and steady, her lungs filling with the sweet smoke, before she took the drug stick away from her lips again. This time, she held the smoke for a while, staring at the lit end of the stick, her good eye glazed over and sparkling with the effects of the mixtures of different spices she had thrown together in her own… ‘recipe’ of sorts. The smoke continue to circle her head as she kept her eye on the burning end of the stick, utterly entranced by whatever it was she saw there, but as soon as another sound tucked itself into her ears, her trance was broken and she turned to face the woman who had spoken.

"That good huh?" Havock asked from the door way of their shared bedroom. There was a light and playful smirk on her face as she reached up and continued to ruffle the towel over her head, attempting to further dry her hair.

After Havock had returned home Jae had instantly set to work cooking them dinner, knowing that the look that was on Havock's face meant there was a new mission. It had started to be a tradition for them, Jae cooks the dinner and then they shower together before the mission is even mentioned. They had begun this tradition after Havock had climbed to the spot she is now, leaving almost no time for them to spend together. Granted it was simple, but it still meant a lot to the odd couple, especially after their heavy falling out not too long ago. Finally, they had gotten back to where they used to be, and it was refreshing, wonderful and kept the both of them from going more insane than they already were.

The answer was simple, quiet and meaningful. "Yup." A chuckle drifted from between Jae's lips as she rose from her seat and moved towards Havock, wrapping her arms around the woman's waist and pressing her forehead against hers. The two were already back in their uniforms, since they had to get to the briefing room in the next twenty minutes, and this alone made Jae's face fall back into a soft frown. "How long do ya think this one will take?" She asked, keeping the lit stick secure in her lips as she spoke.

"I dunno, babe. Just try not to get killed this time." Havock's voice was soft, sullen and was laced with the painful thought that once again the two would separated for a good amount of time. "The first two weeks will be the hardest though."

"Why do you say that?" She asked with a gentle cock of her head.

With wide eyes, realizing what she had said, she quickly shook her head and stepped back, tossing the towel back into their room. "Don't worry about it."

With a grunt, Jae took another drag of her stick, releasing the smoke with a glared eyed that was aimed directly at Havock. "Tell me."

"No. You'll find out, hun. You know our rules."

"Yeah yeah..." With a sigh, Jae calmed herself and reached out with the hand that wasn't holding the stick, grabbed Havock's wrist and pulled her into a sudden kiss. The two of them enjoyed the moment as long as they could, and broke apart with regret sparkling in their eyes. "I'll miss you." The words were soft, full of pain and love. The two had been through so much, but at least back then they had been in the same squad and able to see each other much more often than they could now. But now, with Havock as Executive Officer of the Army, it was rare the two could even spend the night with each other in their condo, separated by their duties and the laws of the Army. It was weighing down on them, eroding away the stability they had finally gotten back to, but they would both be dammed if they gave up now.

"I'll miss you, too." Havock pressed her forehead to Jae's for another moment, sighed and stepped back, straightening herself up a bit to look more professional. "I'll meet you in the briefing room. You better finish that, too. You know Joamer won't let you smoke on the mission, hell I shouldn't even be letting you smoke it." The chuckle that came next was forced, an attempt to lighten the mood, but it was hard for even the slightest smirk to come to either of their faces.

With only a slow, sad nod, Jae sighed and stepped to the side, allowing havock to leave the condo. With one final drag of her stick, she gathered up the dinner dishes and set to work cleaning the kitchen before heading down to hear about what would be keeping her away from Havock this time.

==============

The atmosphere in the briefing room wasn't somber, it wasn't excited, it wasn't anything much of any legible adjective - it was quite apathetic. There was almost no noise, the only sounds being the ones coming from the holoprojector that held a map of the station the two squads would soon be infiltrating, and the steady sound of breathing. It wasn't hard to realize that both Squad Leaders and both Assistant Squad Leaders were annoyed, tiffed and a whole other string of annoyed-sounding words. However, the entire room was still filled with a thick apathy that even Jae's Treppus-IIs would have a hard time cutting through.

Havock and Garryll were at the front, standing next to each other with more than serious looks on their faces. Next to them stood the ARC Commander, who also had a way-too-serious, thin-lipped look plastered to his face. The meeting had already been going on for quite some time, the majority of it being arguing between the SLs and ASLs about how they were done dealing with Blanchard after their last mission. It had taken several minutes for everything to calm back down, leaving the room with the sickening sense of apathetic, passive-aggressiveness.

"Look, we know you guys had a hell of a time on Anteevy, but this needs to happen." Garryll spoke evenly, his voice showing obvious strain to keep his calm.

Bright scoffed, her hands balling into fists on top of the table, he frustration showing a clear rise at yet another mention of Anteevy. gently, Jae grabbed her shoulder and squeezed, the gesture hopefully comforting for her friend. The Jester SL sighed and looked up again, her eyes narrowed, and waited for Garryll to continue. Jae, meanwhile, kept her hand on Bright's shoulder, looking at Havock with her own apathetic stare, noting the strain Havock was showing in trying not to break from her Commander role to comfort her friend.

Bright and Joamer had already sat through their own briefing meeting, but this one was only for RAIDERS and Jester, to give them their duties and in turn send them on their way to complete them. So this, sadly, was the second time the Jester Squad Leader had sit in a chair and listen about how they were once again going to have to deal with the same organization that had forced some of her squad members to stay behind. The tension was growing, and it forcing Garryll and Havock to move the meeting along.

Finally, Garryll spoke again, his voice still even and cold. "Brightstar and Jaomer already know this, but RAIDERS and Jester will be going in two weeks early. You guys need to secure positions on the station that will make it easy for Blackjack and Eclipse to smuggle in our weapons, and secure our landing zones."

"How are going to do that?" The voice belonged to Dunny, the newly instated Jester ASL.

Jaenna couldn't help but laugh at the question, her mood lightened by the fact that she now knew her slicing skills would be of use. "That's probably going to be my job, and Mox of course."

Garryll nodded. "Although I'd rather it be left to the officially Corps certified slicer."

"You doubting my skills?" Jae challenged, a playful smirk touching her lips.

Havock shook her head. "We wouldn't dare. You and Mox can both work on forging the work papers." And at that Havock looked to the other three in the room. "Which means, all of you will end up having your own little fake job on the station. Keep to these personas, work up in the ranks of whatever job you get. Do whatever you can to kiss ass and get rewarded for it. The higher you get, the easier it gets for the rest of us."

"Exactly. So just do what you can, and do it well. Don't break these personas, but keep in contact with everyone else. Cladwin, securing the communication you all will be using is up to you when you get there."

Jae nodded, smirking, her mood definitely lightened by all that she would be able to do. "So when do we leave?"

"Now." Havock said, her eyes flickering to Jae for only a moment, pain evident in them, before she looked back to the rest of them. "Dress in civvies, Mox and Jaenna will be working on your papers on the way there. You all are dismissed."

Withe the exchange of a few sticks of data to to the Squad Leaders, the meeting was them over and the all filed out of the room, all but Jae and Havock. The two women stood in front of the open door, looking at each other with plain faces until finally they closed the distance, wrapping their arms around each other and hugging tightly. "Be safe." Havock whispered softly, the words almost inaudible, but Jae heard them and nodded before she broke away from the Commander and turned to leave the briefing room, trotting down the hallway to catch up with Joamer.

==============

"I've sent the forged papers that Mox and I made to your datapads, so check them, learn them, be one with yourself... basically." Jaenna said as she shifted herself against the wall of the transport shuttle as it careened through space, heading towards the RAIDERS' newest death wish.

Coadster sighed as she read the information, that had just made its presence known with a beep, from his datapad. "Janitor? Really, Jae?"

"Stripper?" Whiskey made a face of pure thoughtful apathy, before she broke into a fit of laughter.

The Squad Leader looked over at Jae from where he was sitting and quirked a brow. "What the hell are you doing to us Jae?"

"Hey now, Mox worked on them, too! Plus, all of this was random. For shit's sake, I got line-cook." She shrugged and leaned back against the wall against, getting as comfortable as she could in her civilian outfit. Slowly, she reached into her pants pocket and pulled out a pack of LungBlasters, relinquished one from its casing, placed it between her lips and lit it with her silver and blue lighter. She took a long drag, and as she released the smoke her shoulders slumped and her face fell into one of obvious relaxation.  The woman looked up, hoping to see the others relaxing, which all of them were, expect for Joamer, who was glaring at her with an intensity she could feel.

Before she could say anything, Bright nudged him the ribs gently, and shook her head. "Let her have this last one, we still have an hour of flight." The response from the RAIDERS SL was a low grumble, but he nodded and then looked over to Jae, nodded again and went about his business.

The thank you was silent, Jae smirking gently at the red-headed woman from across the transport, the lit stick slowly belching a thin tendril of smoke that lifted and circled about the ASL's head, giving her the last bit of relaxation she would be able to grasp until she was back on Tadath with Havock.

OOC:

We're on the transport to the station. Mox and Jae completed your forged papers. Blah blah blah. This story is hopefully going to be mostly C/D. Play nice, have fun. All that good stuff.

OOC:

[RAIDERS, Coadster]

“Alright, Martin. Let me give you the rundown.”

Mr.  Grigory was a portly man with a shiny balding head and trembling double chins, beady eyes looking out from below a thick shelf of eyebrow. He shifted in his seat, making it groan in the inanimate equivalent of exertion. He leaned forward and put his sausage-tipped hands together, letting them rest on the heavy-looking desk littered with paperwork and magazines. A cigar burned itself off in smoky silence in an ashtray to the left of a mug full of pens, aptly labeled, ‘Life’s a Beach.’

Cody stood on a red dot in the middle of the office, just below a low-hanging ceiling fan spinning slowly, giving him the thoughts of carrion birds presciently waiting for their next meal. Cody found himself disguised as Martin Harris, a lowlife nobody getting this job only by his vague connections to an ambiguous higher-up in the system. He was in a saggy denim jumpsuit and muddy workboots, facial hair ungroomed and fuzzy along his face. Once again he cursed Jae for the job, but he bit his tongue and continued to assume a half-lidded, open-mouthed face before his ‘superior’. Mr. Grigory’s chins quivered as he opened his mouth and closed it again, looking for the right words for his frumpy charge.

“I am your boss, and you will listen to everything I tell you, without fail. The reason you’ve got this job is because of this recommendation and I like my job, and I’d rather not lose my livelihood by waving you off.”

Cody sniffed and opened his mouth, but Mr. Grigory continued.

“However! I will not tolerate you trying to take advantage of the fact that you’re a favorite of some executive. If you give me just cause to fire you, you’ll be out of here so fast your head’ll be spinning.”

Cody tried to assure him of this, but the man pressed on.

“Furthermore! You will work quickly and efficiently in whatever you’re told to do. Here, in this facility, you are at the bottom of the dog-eat-dog food chain, and so if anyone tells you there’s a spill, you go take care of it. Someone drop a sandwich? Take care of it. Hell, if someone decides to bend a biscuit on the floor, you take care of it. If you choose to ignore what others tell you to do, and this place looks like a mess at the end of the day, it looks bad on you. And, by association, that looks bad on me, and looks bad on my superiors. And if that happens, I promise you-” He leaned in toward Cody, pressing his body against the desk and therefore pushing his fat against the already straining buttons of his shirt. He lifted his chubby eyebrows as high as he could for emphasis. “You will no longer be in my services, nor any other’s on this station. The only reason we don‘t use droids to clean up here is because they‘re more technical, more expensive, and less replaceable.”

Mr. Grigory leaned back in his chair, satisfied. He smiled, his stained teeth showing between his grubby lips. “So, Mr. Harrison… Are we clear on your position?”

Coad restrained the fierce want to bounce the man’s head against his desk, instead giving a tight lipped nod. Just two weeks, Cody. Just hold it for two weeks. He couldn’t bring himself to respond more, and Mr. Grigory seemed to understand, as he gave a wobbly nod, chins shivering with the man’s arduous motion. He pushed away from his desk, the wheels of his chair shrieking with indignation. Though it didn’t seem possible, the man stood with little more than a grunt. He clapped his chubby hands together and rubbed them together.

“Well! Very good to hear Mr. Harrison. Now, let me show you your work station, get you started with the bathrooms sometime today. If you’ll follow me…”

Mr. Grigory sidestepped between a rickety file cabinet and his desk, his large rump barely clearing the gap. He waddled past Cody and out the door. There was a compact electric cart outside the room, to which he beelined to. He squeezed into the cab, his girth pressing against the steering wheel ponderously. Though he took up three fourths of the available space, he patted the empty foot or so of room next to him. Cody sighed.

Two weeks, two weeks, two weeks, two weeks, two weeks…


----------------------------------------------------------------


For the next hour or so, Cody became intimate with many of the finer points of janitorial work. Sawdust and chlorine and degreaser, sanitizer and brooms and mops. So much equipment for such a little thing, Cody didn’t really understand. Instead, he nodded at each of the bottles Mr. Grigory picked up, contemplating instead on the consistency of the chins trembling with every move the big man made.  Dust mops are different from regular mops, jiggly jig jig…

“And  here’s your radio.” Cody was awoken from his trance by the sudden presence of  a piece of square plastic pushed into his face. He was very confused at the situation, missing what it was Mr/ Grigory had said leading up to this conversation. He didn’t know what to say; his mind drew a blank.

“Huh?” He said dumbly.

The portly man sneered and began talking in an almost-falsetto. “You know, a ray-dee-oh. You press the big red button, and make noises into it?” He put the radio up to his face and smiled like he was talking to a child barely in his sixth year, making a  small theatrical gasp and a round ‘O’ of surprise with his mouth as his own radio responded to his button pressing.  He handed  the radio to the RAIDER, putting his hands on his knees and giving an excited open-mouth smile, his eyebrows reaching to new heights on Mt. Forehead.

Cody’d never wanted to smash  something against someone’s face more than at that particular moment. Instead he clipped the radio to his belt and asked, “So, what now?”

The amusement passed from Mr. Grigory’s eyes, and he stood straight again. Or, well, at least as straight as a man with the torso shape of a pear could. He wheeled the bucket and mop to Cody, and gestured toward the door. “Now, you clean.”

Martin Harris walked out the door, trying to look at his new employer. Not knowing where he was going to start cleaning, he wheeled toward the lift. Fifteen steps down the hall, his radio beeped and spilled Mr. Grigory’s voice, delayed by a quarter-second from the man’s throat just behind him.

“*Crchk*Third floor, someone spilled a cup of jive in the lounge. Get to it.”

Coad seethed and paused a moment before continuing toward the lift, forcing himself not to bore a hole in the fat man’s head with his eyes.

TwoweeksTwoweeksTwoweeks…

OOC:

To anyone wondering what kinda face the dude was making, it'd be something like http://lh3.ggpht.com/_5XvBYfxU_dM/TCoC0loyZbI/AAAAAAAALy8/TtK6QaT3b38/The%20Producers-8x6.jpg

OOC:

RAIDERS:Xylonia/Heliwer

    The shuttle hummed comfortingly as it flew towards their destination.  It was her second mission and Xy was nervous about being under cover for two weeks.  Well, truly she was nervous about not being able to see all her new friends during those two weeks.  She let out a deep sigh.  I just started trusting some people and started liking not being so alone.  This sucks Hutt tail.  

    Xy sat in the cargo bay of the shuttle amongst crates and supplies with her favorite big oaf.  Heliwer watched her intently, his ice blue eyes cold as ever, “What’s wrong Xy?”

    She looked up at his eyes and felt a shiver crawl up her spine.  His eyes had a habit of doing that to her.  She was still undecided if that was a bad thing or not.  She pressed her leg next to his for comfort, as she had grown accustom to in their short time together. Knowing what she was doing, he turned toward her, facing her. 

He carefully touched her cheek and whispered, “What is it? You can tell me.”

Fighting urges his touch suddenly brought to life in her, she smiled softly instead. 

“It’s nothing.  Just thinking how much two weeks without seeing you will suck Hutt tail.”  She gazed up into his eyes.  She loved it when he was right there so close to her and looking into her eyes.  Being lost in his eyes was like being lost in the eye of a storm: calm, peaceful, serene with a nearby edge of danger.  A hint of color rose in his shadowed cheeks.  She tried to hide a smile.

“Well maybe we can –“

“No.” She interrupted him. “It’s too risky.  We can’t see each other until it’s time for all of the Raiders to meet.”

He scowled at her disapprovingly.  “It may be risky but you and I are the best, that’s why we’re in Raiders.  We won’t mess anything up.”

Her eyebrow flew up and she scoffed at him, followed by a loud laugh.  “The best?  Are you serious?”  He looked hurt and angry at her reaction. “No, I didn’t mean you’re not the best at what you do Heli.  I mean, do you really know why I was put in Raiders?”

He thought a moment before responding to her inquisitive sea-green eyes, “No, I don’t suppose I do.”

Her head hung as she looked at the floor her feet were dangling over.  “I’m the worst.  I’m a no good pain in the ass.  That’s why they put me in Raiders, because I wouldn’t follow anyone’s orders, except for Joamer’s after I ran into you guys on Anteevy.  But, basically I’m a frak up.”  Her feminine shoulders shrugged helplessly.

Disturbed, Heliwer put an arm around her and pulled her close, hugging her sideways.  He gently pressed his lips to her forehead and kissed her tenderly. 

“Don’t ever talk about yourself like that.”  He held her for a little while longer.  “I’m glad you ran into us on Anteevy.  You helped us get the hell out of there.  You’re as tough as a bantha’s hide and more beautiful than a, than a-“

She chimed in, grinning mischievously, “Than an explosion from your grenade launcher?”

He smiled a soft small smile while looking at her.  “That may be my style, but yeah, more beautiful than an explosion and more beautiful than other stuff too.”

Feeling a bit better, she nuzzled into his shoulder, enjoying his warmth and the safe feeling he brought her a little while longer before they reached the Liberty Station.

OOC:

RAIDERS: Heliwer

Walking away from Xylonia, Heliwer’s heart felt very odd. He wanted to have a job near her, not a long distance away. But, orders were orders. He sighed and began the long walk to his job. After a few minutes, he arrived at a small shop, the name Trader’s Delight” shining in light blue letters. He walked in, noting the few bits of  decoration that adorned the place, such as fake plants. “Ah, Mr. Ryan.” Came a smooth , slick voice from behind a counter. The trooper looked around to try and locate the man, and eventually located a skinny, rat-faced middle aged man, wearing what appeared to be the worst looking toupee in history.

“My name is… well, you can just call me boss. A few call me Sly. Guess you can call me that.”

A small  chuckle came from the big man’s mouth. “Well I hope you ain’t very sly with my salary. Bernard Ryan. Your new, uh, whatever you want me to do, I guess. Wasn’t very specific.”

Sly smiled and led the way to a chair behind what looked like bolt-proof glass. “This is where I sit. The customer sits across from me. You stand in the corner, ready to tackle him.”

“Tackle? Don’t you need to give me a weapon?”

“Silly man. Weapons are illegal unless you are security personnel, military personnel, or me.”

This made him raise an eyebrow. “I thought I was security.”

“Station security. Now get yourself ready. We officially open in about thirty minutes.”

This sucks fat, sweaty ass.



The first man sat himself down, across the way from Sly. The outfit looked like a smuggler’s outfit, with an obvious knife sheathed on his leg. It was as soon as they started talking that Heliwer realized he could hear almost every word. It was nothing much. Just getting a small loan to keep his ship going. The undercover trooper yawned and settled down for a very long day. A long day that kept on getting longer, as the only clock in the place was directly across the way from him. Tick tock, tick tock, it kept annoying him and seemed to make things go on forever.

Unfortunately for him, it lasted for quite a very long time. After the smuggler, a security guard came to get a box that had some significance to him. He was followed by multiple other peoples before Sly walked over to the trooper, starting to fall asleep. “Wake up, Ryan.”

He kicked the soldier’s leg, making him jump up and almost thwack his boss in the head with his metallic arm. “Oops. Sorry boss.”

“Nevermind that. I need you to go to the Velvet & Silk to meet a client. Simply hand him this package. If you like, you can stay around for a show. But come back after you’ve done that. Ok?”

He grunted and grabbed the manila packet, then began to walk out.

“Oh, and Ryan?”

The trooper looked behind. His boss smiled. “Word is they got a new dancer. Says she’s the best. Name’s Starlight or something.”

Heliwer grunted and made his way out into the station, the clock showing about midnight.


It took him about five minutes to locate the club. Inside the mood was like those few red light district buildings that he had gone into just to experience what it was like. The club was quite aptly named, as the walls were of black velvet. He could see them, kind of, in the dim light. A cigarette hung out of his mouth, a small trail of smoke squirreling up. He sighed as he looked around at the patrons. Several were getting lap dances by the scantily clad women. But he wasn’t here for a dance.

In no time at all, a few girls had their hands on his shoulders and arms, attempting to coax him into accepting their services for credits. Fortunately for him, the man he was sent to see was there and managed to pull him aside on to a couch. He was wearing a light grey jacket over a white shirt, almost matching Heliwer clothing for clothing. Wordlessly, the package was handed over before the announcer came on.

“Alright gentlemen! It’s time for the main attraction! You’ve heard about her, now you get to see her in person! Heeeeeere’s Starlight Lilah!”

The name made the tooper look up with surprise. He had forgotten at the time Xylonia’s undercover name, but now he recognized it. Well, boss said I could stay for one show. At least she’s having more fun than me. Who knows? I could always come back every day about the same time to check up on her.

He settled down for the show, fairly eager to see how it went.

OOC:

800. Phew. Not good with long posts, but here it is.

OOC:

Raiders, Xylonia / Therex

    White bubbles floated lazily on the almost motionless water.  Xy let out a soft moan as the hot water soothed her sore muscles.  The dancing was fun, but the regiment she was not used to was taxing. Music thumped in the walls around her, rippling the water slightly, but she didn’t care.  Her shift was over and she was done for the night.  There’s no way I’ll be able to sleep through all this noise.  I guess I can go out and treat myself.  Ah, might as well.

    Slowly she stood and stepped out of the tub one ivory leg at a time.  She toweled off the remaining water and suds before dressing herself.  Stepping out of her suite in jeans and t-shirt, she nodded to the body guards standing there and locked the door.  Sneaking out the back door to avoid getting swarmed by patrons, Xy closed her eyes and breathed in a deep breath. 

    “Ah, smells like freedom.”

    Casually, Xy walked away from the red district.  Although it was fairly late, the station was a buzz with life.  It didn’t take her long to find a normal bar.  Walking inside, she found herself surrounded by cigarette and cigar smoke in a dark room.  There was a long dark mahogany wood bar with cushioned matching stools.  Soft blue light illuminated the glass shelving on the wall behind the bar where countless bottles sat categorized and orderly.  Before she took a seat upon one of the vacant stools, she paused, closing her eyes and inhaling slowly.  Hundreds of images suddenly rushed her mind filling her with memories of sight, taste and smell.  Her senses became overloaded and she swayed on her feet.  Slightly she moaned a little.  The smell of cigarette smoke reminded her of Heliwer.  Blinking, she proceeded to sit on the stool. 

    I wish he was here.  I want to see him.  Frakking big oaf.  He means well.  I couldn’t really hang with him when he was at the club earlier. 

    Xy let out an audible sigh as a gruff looking pot bellied bartender waddled over to her. 

    “What will it be hmmm?  Haven’t seen you before, new?”  His voice was scratchy and rough, but deep and had a warming feel to it.

    She exhaled and nodded, “Yes, new.  I’ll have the best whiskey you got, and I mean aged.”

    The man raised an eyebrow and examined her closely, “Well, I don’t know if you can afford our best.”  He rubbed a cloth along the bar idly as he spoke.

    “Trust me, I can afford it.”  She slid him some credits in advance to prove she wasn’t fibbing. 

    He nodded silently and reached under the bar, grabbing a bottle from a hidden cubby.  After setting a heavy glass in front of her, he filled it the rim and corked the bottle carefully.  Xy dipped her wrist into the fluid and sniffed it before licking it off herself.  A smile spread on her red lips and she toasted the bartender.

    “Now, this is exactly what I was talking about.”  She took a lengthy sip and shuddered with her eyes closed as the strong alcohol coursed through her stomach.  Goosebumps rose on her pale skin and her lips parted in pleasure as she exhaled.  The bartender grinned at her.

    “Yup. I call her ol’ girl.  Let me know when you need a refill pretty lady.”  He nodded to her in a friendly manner.  “Names’ Chuck.  This aint the prettiest place, but everyone who comes in is friendly enough and I don’t take fodder from anyone, so this is a safe place to be.  You’re always welcome here as long as you cause no trouble.”  He wandered off to wash some glasses, leaving her be.

    Xy softly smiled, already liking Chuck.  I may just have to make this my bar away from home while I am here. If only I had some friends to hang out with.

    As she was thinking about the good times and new friends she had made since joining the army, she started to feel a little sad.  Reminiscing, she swallowed a gulp of the whiskey and swirled it in her glass.  The sound of shuffling cards caught her attention and she looked over to the source.  A Chiss in a black leather duster was sitting at a small table in the corner alone, shuffling his deck of cards.

    A light grew in Xy’s eyes and she stood and approached Therex.  “Hey, mind if I join ya? Name’s Starlight.”  She winked hoping he’d remember that they are undercover.

    Therex looked up at her startled at first, but his facial expression quickly relaxed when he recognized her.  He motioned with a blue hand at the seat across from him, “No, not at all.  Please, sit Starlight.”

    Xy’s smile widened as she sat across from him.  A warm feeling enveloped her at seeing a friendly face.  “How are ya?”  Casually, she took another sip of whiskey.  The effect of the whiskey showed on her body.  Without realizing it, Xy slid her leg up next to Therex’s and pressed against his leg.

    The Chiss focused on his deck of cards and stammered slightly, “I-I’m well.  Thank you.  Care for a game?”

    Xy raised her glass slightly and nodded happily, “Oh yes, I’d love a game right now.” 

    Therex smiled and started dealing out the cards between them.  Xy watched his blue deft hands curiously.    He is an odd quiet one, but I like him.  I’m really glad he is here right now and I happened to stumble upon him here.  Thank the Maker. 

OOC:

Word Count: 941  Xy is missing just being herself with friends

OOC:

JESTER/RAIDERS: Xylonia/Brightstar

Bright, feeling slightly out of her element steps back from the woman. She'd met Xylonia on the way to Liberty station but had not really conversed with her in any manner beyond a polite hello. Most of what she knew of the other woman had been a briefing like discription of her personality from Joamer.

Clearing her throught, Bright nodded to the other woman. "I believe we have met once or twice." The Jester SL replied. "I'm actually here to make sure your doing all right."

She'd argued over this point with Joamer for almost an hour. She didn't know Xylonia very well but she was a RAIDER and that meant that, by extension, she was a member of Bright's expanded family. As Xy had been the only one between Jester and RAIDERS placed into such a comprimising postition, Bright was inclined to worry about her. Joamer had insisted that the woman was fine, but had not personally checked up on her.

Bright, as a woman was uncomfortable around places like the Velvet and Silk. She'd been in such establishments before, and even undercover as a dancer, which is why she worried. Her own experiences had not been pleasant ones.

Xy, smiled and looked around, "I would say that 'alright' is an understatement." She pushed a strand of violet died hair out of her eyes.

Bright looked around as well, it was true that Xy's suite of rooms was bigger than the room she'd been given in the security barracks. Slowly she nodded and looked back at the undercover trooper. "Okay you're right. I just wanted to be sure. It's in my nature to worry. Especially about others."

Something in the way that Xy's eyes studied her, told Bright that the other woman wasn't totally convinced. It was an intense stare for several moments before Bright cleared her throught and nodded. "So I'll just tell Joa and Jae that you really are doing okay and that they were right about me being a worry wart." She gave Xy another polite nod before turning to walk out the door.

OOC:

JESTER: Xylonia/Bright

Bright stopped suddenly and looked at the violet haired dancer. "No, it's more because I....." She stopped and thought about it. Bright was definitely sure that it was not because she was new. "I check up on everybody really. But mostly I've been undercover as a stripper before. My own experiences sometimes make me want to protect others from suffering the same."

She couldn't tell if the younger woman believed her or not, but regardless, Bright had given her a straight answer. An honest answer. Undercover work always wore thinly on Bright's nerves. Often times her cover was blown because she was far too honest and sincere in her own ways. It wasn't that she couldn't get a job to work right, Bright could act with the best of them, but her natural sincerity and burtal honesty always seemed to shine through.

"Seriously though, it's not because you are new." Bright reassured. Smiling at her before turning away to continue walking, Bright pushed the thoughts of all those failed undercover jobs out of her mind.

"You know, this place kinda reminds me of home." Bright muttered walking along the trees and listening to the sound of what was supposed to be a stream or a brook not too far of. The reality of it was that some of those trees did appear to have been taken straight from the Dathomiri wilderness. "Where you from, Xylonia?"

Bright wasn't worried about being overheard in the Atrium. She and Joa had already checked it out and noted that for the most part it was pretty clear of people and the trees weren't talking. She leaned against a familiar looking tree with a genuine smile upon her face. A rarity these days, but it felt nice to be able to do so.

OOC:

Raiders,Xylonia/Brightstar

    Xylonia grew silent and plopped down in heap, collapsing at her knees, on a patch of grass amongst a grotto of trees.  Bright’s question echoed in her mind.    Where are you from, Xylonia? Where are you from, Xylonia? Where are you from, Xylonia?   It echoed over and over in her head. 

    “STOP!”  She pressed her face against the grass and screamed. 

    The atrium spun as visions of Serci and Qunlop filled her head.  She felt the knife of Vick pressed against her throat, then dragging down her cheek.  Another scream evacuated her lungs as she felt her cheek to hold back the blood. 

    Bright immediately ran to her side, confused and wondering if someone had shot Xy.  She shielded Xy as her calculating eyes darted around the atrium.  As Bright’s arms came around Xy, she screamed at a whole new volume.

    “DON’T TOUCH ME!”  Xy cried as she scrambled away from Bright. 

    Her eyes were looking at Bright, but all they saw were Vick and his knife sliding into Qunlop’s belly.  The flashback was in full swing and Xy thrashed violently.  Bright’s eyes continued to dart around nervously.  No one was in sight and it seemed as though the foliage of the atrium had muffled Xy’s screams enough to keep her from drawing unwanted attention.  Bright leaned over Xy without touching her.

    “GET AWAY FROM ME SERCI!  I HATE YOU! YOU ARE NOTHING TO ME!”  Xy’s voice started to sound scratchy from the continuing screaming.  Her face was flushed red and tears streamed down her cheeks in gushes.

    “Xylonia? Xylonia?  What are you seeing?  Are you hurt?  Xy, come on!”  Bright looked around, frustrated that she didn’t know what was going on or what to do.  With Xy screaming at invisible people, Bright began to piece together that Xy’s mind might be at work. 

    Bright ran over to a nearby stream in the atrium and filled her hands with the cool water.

    “NOOOOOO!  NOT AGAIN!  YOU WILL NOT REMOVE MY CLOTHING! NOOOOOO!”  Xy’s waking nightmare continued and she relived the torment Vick put her through.  She crawled away on her stomach in the grass.  Suddenly she screamed out and kicked her leg as though someone had grabbed her ankle.  She rolled over onto her back, trying to scoot away on her feet and elbows.

    Bright hurried back over to Xy and threw the cupped water onto her face.  Xy’s silver eyes blinked repeatedly and her screaming finally ended.  Bright knelt next to Xy and looked at her carefully.  Xy looked around and rubbed her eyes, blinking again.  When she realized where she was, she put her head in her hands and sighed.  Slowly, she eased her breathing and started calming herself down. 

    Bright wanted to comfort Xy, but was unsure if touching her would be a good idea.  She decided to just wait.

    “Where’d you get that water?” Xy asked in raspy breaths.  Her voice was low and raw, partly from the screaming and partly from being ashamed.

    “Just over there.  There’s a small stream.”  Bright nodded to the stream that was only a few meters away.

    “Thanks.”  Xy slowly stood, her head hanging as she stared at the ground.  She walked over to the stream and knelt near it.  Trembling ivory hands splashed more water on her face.  The cool liquid soothed her hot face, calming her skin and mind. 

    Bright walked over to her and knelt by the stream with her.  “Are you alright?”  She gently touched Xy’s shoulder to show her concern. 

    Xy softly smiled at her touch.  “Yeah.  I’m fine.  I could really use a drink right now though.  How about we ditch this hippy pit?”

    Bright smiled, relieved that Xy seemed to have calmed all the way down.  “Sure.  Got anywhere in mind?”

    Xy shrugged, “Nope.  But, anywhere other than the Velvet & Silk will do.”

OOC:

RAIDERS, Xylonia/Therex

    Xy squeezed his arm slightly, feeling the muscle underneath his coat.  Therex seemed to grimace uncomfortably at her touch.  Why is he so uncomfortable around others I wonder? I want to ask, but I do not want to pry.   For some time they walked in silence.  The quiet was not awkward for Xy at all.  A small subtle smile dusted her face.  Hmm.  I feel more relaxed than I have ever since we arrived on this worthless heap of metal.  

    There were a few other people coming and going along the pathways.  A few men they passed gave her a second glance, and she could see recognition firing in their eyes.  Rolling her eyes, she moved closer to Therex.  Even with the men behind them now, she could feel their stares prodding at her back.  A shiver ran up her spine and she tried to ignore it.  Therex’s red eyes shifted sideways at her briefly.

    “Are you cold?”  He watched her while they walked.

    “No.  My fan club just has that effect on me.”  Xy snorted a small laugh.

    “Fan club?”  Therex seemed puzzled.

    “Uh. Yeah.  Let’s just say I’m gaining popularity here.”  Xy watched the wall for shadows as they continued on.  She could hear footsteps tailing them. 

    Therex noticed that they were being tailed as well.  His uneasiness about social interactions did not impede his ability to notice something amiss. 

    “Negative popularity?  What is your job here exactly?”  He raised an ebony eyebrow curiously. 

     Xy tried to stand on tip toe while walking to reach his ear to whisper. “I think I’m going to need you to help me put them off.  Just look tough and serious like you always do.  They should scare easily.”

    Intrigued further and annoyed that they were being followed; Therex looked over his shoulder to see two men directly behind them.  His brow furrowed angrily as he noticed Xy had become uncomfortable.  He stopped and stared straight ahead.

    “You two got a problem?”  Therex growled under his breath.

    “Uh no, buddy.  We just want to get up close and personal with Starlight there.  Hey Starlight! You remember me from the other night?”  One of the men started to reach out and walk towards Xy. 

    Therex’s hand shot out behind him like a snake grabbing the man’s hand.  He slowly turned and set his glowing red orbs on the man.

    “Do not lay a finger on her.  She. Is. With. Me.”  Therex slowly emphasized each word.

    The other man stood frozen staring at Therex.  The man whose hand was tightly being squeezed by Therex’s large muscular hand, started to grunt in pain.

    “Alright! Alright man!  Just let me go!  We’ll leave her alone!”  The man’s whimpering was pathetic.

    Therex released him and wrapped his newly free arm around Xy’s shoulders, slightly enveloping her in half his duster.  His blue palm rested on her bare ivory shoulder sending goose bumps down her body with his cool touch.  The two men turned around quickly and dashed away thoroughly frightened by Therex’s presence.  He chuckled softly then cleared his throat uncomfortably once the men were long gone.  Removing his arm from her shoulder he rolled his shoulders and readjusted his duster, keeping his eyes off of her.

    Together, they started walking again.  Xy slid her arm into his once again, resting her hand on the inside of his elbow.  He remained silent, but did not flinch. 

    “Thank you.”  Warmth filled her voice.  Having a big blue man with red eyes to scare away the dirt-bags was comforting.  I may have to try to keep him around me more while we are under cover.  It would certainly make me feel better.  Frakking stalkers are everywhere now!  

    Xy steered him right down another pathway.  She did like the feel of his thick arm under the duster.  Blue orbs watched him curiously.  He was stiff and seemed on edge.  She thought she could see him glancing at her out of the corner of his eye occasionally, but he would quickly look away. 

    Slowly he cleared his throat before muttering, “You’re welcome.” 

    The path they were on now was more isolated and they were the only two people around.  The path ended up leading to an observatory at the head of the station.  It was a small room compared to the other rooms on the station.  The ceiling was glass and fell around the front of the room, giving it almost a bubble-like feel.  A square bench sat empty but inviting in the center.  Xy sat on the bench and pulled lightly on Therex’s arm, prodding him to join her.  Reluctantly, he sat next to her, but as far away from her on the bench that he could comfortably.  She smiled starting to understand his discomfort around people.  She did not know why he was like that, but for some reason she found it an endearing quality.  Perhaps it was because it was a nice change from everyone else she had encountered. 

    Xy looked up past the glass into the black space beyond and the millions of stars shining down and reflecting in her midnight blue eyes.  Therex also looked at the stars and they sat in silence.  After a few minutes, his gaze found its way to her.  She remained silent, enthralled by the view.  After watching the stars reflecting in her eyes briefly, he noted that her eyes were the same color as his skin.  He turned his gaze back to outside the bubble before she would notice.

    “Beautiful isn’t it?”  She asked breathlessly, completely entranced by the stars.  For once her mind was quiet and not racing with a million things.  Xy was grateful when she discovered the secluded spot no one seemed to know about.

    “Yes.” His response was quiet and simple, hiding its true meaning. 

OOC:

Word Count: 975 I GOT MY MOJO BACK! YEAH!