Private A Longer Stopover Than Expected

[Saul Whesai]

Location: Ord Mylock Freeport

Saul plopped down on one of the few available benches and rubbed over his tired eyes before looking around the Freeport's halls. A lot more people were rushing through the halls than normal. Having a major capital collapse will do that... I'm surprised that it has effects this far out though. Looking out at the crowd with his neon eyes, he saw various families trying to hold on to what they had left, while bundling their infants around their chests to keep their hands free as they tried to figure out what to do next. The Android himself had only gotten away on a passenger liner a day or two before the Galactic Empire invaded Courasant. He was surprised that the Empire had managed to best Courasant's defenses, but he could only guess that a combination of feeling invincible and a worn-down military had finally done the GA in.

The rumbling in his belly brought him back to his senses. Letting out a sigh, it was a reminder that he hadn't eaten anything but the contents of snack bags for the past couple of days, and decided it was time to get some real food. Putting his hood over his head, he reluctantly got up from his seat and made his way over to a noodle stall. Hopefully a bowl of Glowblue noodles would hold him over till his next flight.

Madalena deWinter or one of your other girls

 

[Madalena deWinter]

Saul Whesai

There was a lull in the noise just as she stepped through the security arch.

It wasn't much, just the brief hesitation of a child crying one second too long, a vendor turning too fast and knocking over his stack of ration tins, the background thrum of a thousand worried hearts holding their breath. Most wouldn't notice. But Madalena did.

She stood still as the moment passed, as life continued. Her boots made no sound on the plastisteel floor. The long form-hugging coat she wore did not billow at its ends despite the wind tunnel effect created by the overhead fans. To the people around her, she was just another tired traveller arriving too late to flee anything and too early to help anyone. Good. For now, she preferred it that way.

The chaos of the Freeport didn't bother her. The smell of oil and ozone, of unwashed bodies and barely-contained despair, were all scents that were familiar to the Sithling. Comfortable, even. What stood out was how many people clung to hope. She almost breathe it, the brittle, desperate, loud sensation that they insisted on not giving up. The kind of hope that got you killed when you should've run.

She moved through the crowd like water slipping through cracks, her senses quietly sweeping the space. Something had drawn her here, and that something was more than fleeing worlds and broken capitals. She was a Soceress who did not believe in destiny, but sometimes... the Force had a way of circling back on itself.

And sometimes it smelled like Glowblue noodles.

Her stomach growled in spite of itself.

Madalena followed the scent without urgency, violet eyes scanning the noodle stalls until they landed on a hooded figure just settling in. Something about him shimmered on the edge of her attention. She wasn't sure what it was, but she knew that it was some kind of possibility.

"Tell me they're not out of real broth," she said as she approached the stall, her voice dry and low with a hint of amused warning. "I'll cry. Ugly, loud tears. Scare off the whole damn line."

 

[Saul Whesai]

The stomach growl behind him was the first thing he heard, and as he glanced back to see where the sound had come from, he couldn't help but draw back from the gaze of the violet eyes bearing down on him. Why... Why can't I meet anyone normal... Watching the blonde woman do a runway walk and sit down next to him, he couldn't help but feel some energy coming off of her. Or maybe it was just the lack of sleep... Rubbing his eyes, he looked again and saw that she was still there on the stool beside him, putting her order in. She defiently is something... something supernatural that is...

Saul caught himself staring at her alittle too long and forced himself to turn his head away, pulling up the worn balcava over his face as the Rodian Shop Owner handed over his order. "You're out of luck. He just got the last bowl for now. It will take me awhile to make a new batch." The internal sigh that went through his mind, knowing she probably would follow through with her threats. The last thing he needed during lunch is a headache. We might have to save of our skin here... Without a word, the android slid over his bowl over to her. The android wasn't in any hurry, he could wait it out till his turn came around again.

Madalena deWinter

 

[Madalena deWinter]

Well that was not something had expected. The place was out of ready to eat food, and yet a bowl had made itself to Madalena's place with ease. She had been willing to leave blood behind for the chance to get something decent to eat, and this had so entirely deflated the situation that there was nothing left for her to do but shrug and nod in thank you.

Her eyes drifted toward the man beside her, still hooded, face now partially masked. She tilted her head, looking at the figure with curiosity, as though she was trying to look through the fabric and into his thoughts. She wasn't, really, but it was hard not to come off as too much when your face literally bore the scars from that time an explosion caused it to fall off.

"You're either a saint," she said, voice low, velvet-wrapped steel, "or you're trying to poison me."

Without waiting for a response, she plucked a pair of chopsticks from the dispenser and dug in. The noodles were hot, glowing faintly in a way that probably shouldn't have been appetizing. She slurped loudly and unabashedly.

"…This tastes so good, I don't care if it is poisoned," she declared, lips curving. Warm food always did that to her, especially when she was so hungry.

Madalena leaned back slightly on the stool, glancing at him from the corner of her eye.

"You got a name, Generous Stranger?" She gestured vaguely at his covered face, noodles still in hand. "I would like to properly thank the hand that has fed me."

Saul Whesai

 

[Saul Whesai]

Saul couldn't help but stare at this new woman but it wasn't in a bad way. Despite all the scars, he could still see the beauty underneath and that made him smile. Guessing that she wasn't going to go away anytime soon, he let down his ragged hood and mask, letting her see his true face. Pushing his purple shaggy hair out of his eyes, he gave the woman a smirk as a reward for her joke before replying. "Lets just say I know what it feels like to go hungry and leave it at that."


Letting a small chuckle sneak past his lips as he watched the women dig in, he couldn't help but think she hadn't tasted food before. "Its Saul. And I'm guessing youre the next Miss Galaxy? The comment wasn't mocking her scars, he really did think she could be a model with those emerald eyes if she wanted to be. For a moment, he couldn't help but take her in, painting a picture in his mind of her. She certainly was... interesting wasn't quite the word... capifiying was more like it. If she didn't eat him up as well, this was going to be a interesting conversation.


Madalena deWinter

 

[Madalena deWinter]

Saul Whesai

Miss Galaxy?

Madalena grinned. It had been a while within the galaxy proper that someone had treated her to a compliment regarding her outward appearance. She was not ignorant to her physical features and the effect they sometimes could have on people, but the scars sustained from having her face fall off all those years ago had made many of them too hesitant to remind her of it from time to time.

This guy was good. Must've had a proper mother figure in his life when it still mattered.

"Madalena Antares," she said with a respectful nod, a smile, and then took another mouthful of the food. Still not sure if it tasted like the best noodles this galaxy had to offer, or she was really that hungry. She swallowed, wiped the back of her hand across her mouth, and motioned to the stall's employee for a drink.

"What brings you to this part of the 'verse?" she asked casually, but the curiosity in her glowing green eyes was already noticeable.

 

[Saul Whesai]

Good, the grin she made meant he was on the right track. In reality, he never had a mother figure, but he knew what it was like to be different. Hell, she could probably guess how different he was just by looking at his eyes or his pale face that most people would feel off about. Her scars didn't turn him away or make him think less of her. They made her who she was.

Looking on as the noodles in her bowl teleported into her stomach, he watched the stall owner hand over a foaming pint of Coriallian ale. Maybe that glass will make this interaction a whole lot better or a whole lot worse... Coughing into his hand as his mind scrambled to give her an answer. Hell, he didn't know where he was going half the time. But he did have a general direction. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Madalena. As for a direction... East is sounding good for the moment, just like it is for most of the people around here." Maybe he should have gone north into the sliver of unclaimed space north of GA, but creating a homestead to live the rest of his life on wasn't in his plans for the moment. Many of the families around him would also struggle without government support, leading them to consider taking a chance on other governments, such as the Diarchy or the High Republic to the southwest, either by choice or necessity. For himself, he still didn't know where he was gonna end up on the galactic dartboard. "I'm a wanderer, I go where I feel a pull, and I go where it leads. Sometimes I take on engineering positions on starships to help me get there. Nothing more to it than that. I'm guessing you are the same...?" Maybe it was how Madalena dressed or the way she talked, but the Cyborg could guess she was doing the same thing, going to where her internal compass pointed her. He could only hope that her internal compass didn't scream for her to make this spaceport a bloody mess.

Madalena deWinter

 

[Madalena deWinter]

In all honesty, Madalena hadn't noted the eyes or skin for anything different about Saul Whesai . It was a very big galaxy, and a lot of creatures had different features. Sithspit, she herself came a family where everyone's eyes glowed green, so glow by others didn't really jump to notice as different when she saw others with such markings.

East.

Madalena grinned and took another bite from her food. East was a direction she'd avoided for years… Unless she came to bring both war and freedom to the systems there. She had led the Wild Hunt in the freedom is Ryloth, Rodia, and many more, and as a result, had been labelled a terrorist. That was okay though. She didn't mind.

She herself though, much preferred the Galactic West. But that wasn't why she was there that way.

"No," she answered with a friendly tone, "I recently took a position as a security consultant. I stopped here on the way between two points to restock on food and get some lunch."

And she also traveled far and wide to balance an old ledger and make sure certain people and places ceased to exist, but that wasn't proper conversation etiquette in their present situation. Especially since there wasn't a good enough reason to instill fear or panic in the hand that had, after all, fed her.

She put her chopsticks down, put her elbow on the counter, and leaned her chin into it as she looked at Saul again.

"I do love to go from place to place though," the Sithling admitted, "It's a big galaxy, and I have given up on trying to build a planetside home anywhere."

 

[Saul Whesai]

Saul nodded along, looking down as his brain tried to think up a response. Security consultant made sense from what he saw though there was defiently more to her than she was letting on. Normal people's eyes don't shine like that... And when people weren't normal, they tended to be appaulded in holo mags or destested as uncontrollable beasts. He wondered where among the specturm Madalena rested. If he had to guess it was on the darker side of the spectrum but he didn't mind. It wasn't like he was a saint either. "Fair enough, I mostly work as a flight engineer and sometimes a merc or a slicer if I want to pick up some extra credits. Though I bet you could beat me in a fight with the muscles under that coat."

That look that Madalenu gave him as she rested her head made his metal legs quake and he wasn't sure that was a good or a bad thing. Taking a breath, he responsed the best he could to her statment as he involunatry flexed his hands. "Same more or less. Maybe I would stay in one place if had a reason too but till then, I have as many reasons as the stars to keep moving." Choosing his next words carefully, he asked her a question that might help help the cyborg get to know her a bit more. "Since we are moving onto the 20 questions part of the program, favorite creature?"

Madalena deWinter

 

[Madalena deWinter]

Madalena tilted her head, eyes glinting like sharpened emeralds.

"Favorite creature?" she repeated, letting the question hang for several second she considered it. She liked animals, of course. What sort of person wouldn't? But she wasn't like her sisters on that front, who seemed to try to adopt every puppy that happened their way. Sure, she had a Lloth Wolf as a companion, but he wasn't around right now, and frankly, he was the only one she liked having around, never attempting to find more.

Then there were the animals that fed them. But those were only raised for nutrition, not because they made nice or fun pets.

"The spacefaring magpie worms of D'Qar," she finally answered with a firm nod, "they steal everything shiny… and sometimes your thoughts."

A few more bites of food. Force, she hadn't realized she was this hungry when she'd gotten there. The melodramatics had been just that, a ploy for attention and to get some food, but now… She was going to order seconds. And thirds.

"So what's the weirdest encounter you've had on your travels so far?" she asked between the bites.


Saul Whesai

 

[Saul Whesai]

That answer made him raise an eyebrow since it wasn't a normal answer he had heard before. Still, the answer made sense given what he had known about her so far. Her question, though, made him think. He didn't think any of the encounters he had had so far were weird, for say, strange maybe, but not outright weird. He gave the only answer he could. "Well, to be honest, that would probably be you. You don't hear of many ladies liking memory-stealing worms." Even after meeting a Jedi Master or two, he didn't think he had met a woman as striking or as mysterious as her. Hopefully, ordering her another pull would keep her sated for another couple of minutes.

Now it was his turn to throw a question back at her. It took him a few minutes to think up what he wanted to ask. "I would ask what your favorite food is, but I'm guessing it's those noodles right now." The cook gave a happy nod to her slurping before going back to his cooking pot, leaving Saul with the question of "Do you usually go out like this or do you cook at "home" sometimes?"

Madalena deWinter

 

[Madalena deWinter]

Saul Whesai

Madalena's lips curled into a slow smirk, and she leaned just slightly over the counter, the green of her eyes dancing in the dim light.Of course he had mentioned her as a response to her question. She hadn't quite left room for much else, even if it was a little easy to guess.

She polished off the last of her bowl and immediately gestured for another, unabashed. For the briefest of moments, she let the scars on her face glow faintly, pulsing, not to threaten the poor guy, but as a reminder to the potential that meeting someone like her could have. And yet… "If I'm the weirdest encounter you've had so far, darling, you've been traveling too safely."

The next question drew a laugh from her throat, sharper than the smile. "Cooking?" she echoed, almost incredulous. "I know how to, when needed. But it's rarely needed." She preferred to buy things rather than spend time in the kitchen. And she had a sister who provided her with regular shipments of amazing meat products every now and then. Starving or going hungry was rarely a concern. Except for today, obviously.

Her chopsticks dove back into the steaming noodles, but she paused before slurping them down, eyes flicking back to Saul with a sly glint. "I usually prefer cheesecake though."

Once the food was down, she took a loud exhale, smiling in complete and utter content. "Your turn," she reminded him, "do you cook?"

 

[Saul Whesai]

Well, if her smile full of shark teeth wasn't off-putting, that faint glow from her scars was like there was a nuclear reactor under her skin, certainly was. Trying his best to keep a straight face, he tried to twist his words a bit to save face. "Well, you are probably the weirdest good surprise I've ever had. The worst probably was a Mando whose ship I liked to repair who liked looking at my butt as much as keeping his ship safe. I guess I haven't met some of the galaxies weirder species." Maybe he was the weirdest one to some people. The Cyborg certainly felt like it at times.

Giving a grin at hearing her favorite food, Saul imagined she didn't usually have time to cook given her job or had the luxury of not having too. As the stall owner got another bowl for her, the cyborg answered her question, trying his best not to stare as he looked at the moving world around them in the terminal. "Some, I didn't grow up with much and the only person to cook for me was myself so... I would rather have good, cooked food than slop so I had to learn out of thrown away cookbooks and use dented half used propane cans to heat up makeshift meals. But hey, it gave me a good education about how to feed myself. I'm guessing you grew up better than me." Then again, given her face was lighting up, maybe it wasn't...

Madalena deWinter

 

[Madalena deWinter]

A shudder ran through her as Saul mentioned a Mando ship. Madalena, a scion of both of her parents, had inherited the usual Mandalorian-racism that ran deep in her family, courtesy of a blood feud that had begun generations ago. She let it pass before returning to her usual charm though.

"Yes and no," came her answer at his last spoken assumption, "but I've been lucky enough to have people to watch out for me when it mattered."

Her ties in her original dimension had been fierce, and close. Then in this one… She had the love of her sister and the rest of their family. She had known the love of men and… Well, beasts, for lack of a better word. She had faced hardships, true, but she had never had to go hungry unlike a few other people that were dear and close to her heart.

Still, she put her bowl down, turning her chair so that she was facing Saul Whesai directly.

"You know," she chuckled, "I see you noticing the scars. They do nab one's attention, don't they? You're allowed to ask about them."

 

[Saul Whesai]

A shudder ran through her as Saul mentioned a Mando ship. Madalena, a scion of both of her parents, had inherited the usual Mandalorian-racism that ran deep in her family, courtesy of a blood feud that had begun generations ago. She let it pass before returning to her usual charm though.

Saul bet there was a reason her face got even more stormy, but like her, he let it pass. She must have her own reasons why she hated Mandos. So did a lot of the galaxy for oblivious reasons. He wasn't the biggest fan of some of their warriors either but he understood. He gave a soft smile as they continued their conversation. "I've been trying to get some more friends, but good ones are hard to find." Handing over the credits over for his own bowl, he wished he had the scarred woman's luck. Sleeping with human beasts would have been better than rotting in a cell.

Well, she has caught him looking. "I mean, you aren't wrong. I'm guessing something special happen for you to have those. Force lighting maybe...? Or some sort of wild experiment like him that she escaped from. Maybe she from the Netherworld herself but right now, Saul was focused on slurping up his noodles as his stomach won out over his curiosity.

Madalena deWinter