A Sky Full of Stars [Ashin]

[Ria Misrani]

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Continued from here (x)​

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Sitting back in the chair, with tear stained eyes she looked at [member="Ashin Karrde"]. A silence struck the room and as her attention drew to Ashin holding her hand she shrugged. "Never used the force before," she muttered back as familiar brown orbs looked up toward the other woman locking their gaze. "Wasn't something I really um, I don't, uh." If she had been force sensitive it wasn't nearly as strong or as prevalent had as her pedigree may have suggested. She shifted her weight in the seat and slowly withdrew her hand from beneath Ashin's. The younger woman looked down at her finger and then back at the woman across the table. "My gut's telling me that I've been, lied to my entire life," her lips quivered and she did her best to hold herself together. Twenty-two years old and the story of her life is, she didn't know a damn thing.

The Auli'i needed to be repaired and she was a long way from home. Onderon. "Next it's telling me I was just..." she stopped herself there, she was just an accident the result of a one-night stand or a fling. That angered her, and it angered her that Ajira Cardei wasn't around to answer her questions. She wanted to know why, what was she thinking, what was she feeling and did she ever regret it. Swallowing hard Amaya, "excuse me." Politely excused herself from the briefing room she needed to get air. It was just too much right now, hands to her eyes as she hastily made her way down the hall.

Eventually, enough walking around led Amaya to a quiet place that seemed to be nothing more than a small observation deck. White coats walked around to and from, she stood there in bantha-leather studded armor, with an axe and blade strapped to her back. Burn marks, coagulated wounds, and lacerations from keeping the small Mandalorian vessel together in gravimetric distortions bore themselves along her body. Her arms were folded across her chest while she gazed out onto the stars.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

S.S. SHAMBALLA
ANOTH SYSTEM

As the briefing room's door closed behind [member="Amaya Verd"], Ashin pocketed the small device she'd placed on the table. Given the sensitivity of the First-Order-funded experiments that the academic mission was conducting, she had little doubt that eavesdropping was a regular occurrence on the Shamballa this time around. Hopefully that level of scrutiny would decrease after they offloaded this particular set of academics and experiments. In the meantime, prudence suggested the use of anti-eavesdropping measures -- but only what a civilian in her position could access. Doubtless someone would get through the static, at which point they'd find the innocuous conversation that she'd just shared with Amaya.

She tapped a control surface on the table, and a holodisplay flared to life: system reports, mission tasking, priority messages. The expedition's ranking professors had declared their data satisfactory, and that was entirely fine with Ashin. The Shamballa was a Naboo-built civilian science frigate, a lovely little ship with the hull and shield integrity of an eggshell with a career in politics. They'd made it between the two major fragments of Anoth and only lost half their shielding in the process; they'd been lucky. Exhilarating as it had been, Ashin had no desire to risk her ship on another pass.

Their next port of call would be Bespin. Scans indicated that Amaya's heavily damaged ship wasn't about to explode anytime soon, so she ordered the tractor operator to bring it into the hangar. The Shamballa's two shuttles were completing their surface check, and both had functional hyperdrives. Rather than recall them, she made room for the Mandalorian transport by ordering the shuttles to take escort positions until the frigate reached its next port of call. Cloud City's economic boom offered all manner of opportunities for repair, refit, and -- most importantly -- exchanging the academic mission for another one.

Some time later, after checking internal sensors, she came to join Amaya on the observation deck. "Your ship has been brought aboard," she said quietly. "We're heading for Bespin. You should be able to arrange for repairs there. In the meantime, if you need to talk about anything, we're family in a way, so my door is always open."

 

[Ria Misrani]

The observation lounge provided a silence, a stillness that Amaya needed. Her eyes focused on nothing they were glossed over, lost in thought as she wondered where her life would have gone if she had been raised by her birth mother. Birth mother - it was strange to say, closing her eyes for a moment she chose to recall the memories of the woman who raised her. Collecting salvage and gear identifying parts and putting things back together it was a stark contrast from the life that Lady Ajira Cardei had led. She had been so engrossed in her thoughts that she almost didn't hear [member="Ashin Karrde"] at all. A slight turn of her head so that she could hear the woman better, the brunette cast a long glance down to the ground before turning her body to face Ashin. Her jaw clenched for a moment and then relaxed as she crossed to the woman who stood there. The woman who had confirmed - in a way, what Amaya's gut had been telling her the entire time and questions, yes, Amaya had questions.

She felt so small in the moment as her brown orbs met with the woman's green orbs. Amaya studied her again, committing the features to memory and then she looked away casting another long glance toward some other part of the room. This time to a piece of furniture, her mouth opened and then it closed as her attention came back to focus on Ashin once more. "Wh-" She stopped and put a hand on her lips. Tapping her fingers across her light brown lips she tucked them in and lowered her hand, "what was she like?" Amaya asked while swallowing hard, her voice cracked as it spoke, "did she... did she even think about me?"

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Amaya Verd"]

Ashin stood looking out the window, hands clasped behind her back.

"You understand I never knew her personally, but she left a mark, and I think I have her measure. Cold, hard, superior, judgmental, gleefully incisive. A natural plotter. Unwilling to accept others' ideas of what she should be. Her life was business and military service. She never had a family, never learned to touch the Force beyond basic party tricks. She commanded a cruiser at the Battle of Druckenwell and spent the last five years as Director General of Strategic Security Branch in Theed Hangar - the Theed Palace Space Vessel Engineering Corps. A few months ago, she retired under a cloud and disappeared after she won some engagements conclusively, more aggressively than a Naboo noblewoman is supposed to win. Preemptive strikes, that sort of thing."

She glanced at Amaya. "From what I can tell, you didn't miss out on much by not knowing her. She sounds unpleasant."

 

[Ria Misrani]

"She sounds like the kind of woman who would have shackled up with Isley Verd for a night or two," Amaya quipped as she scoffed. "Is there anyone who did know her personally? Anyone at all?"

The point was probably moot, but she still wanted to know, the younger and more animated of the two women paced back and forth. A hand moving to scratch the top of her head, a finger working between the braids on her head. She stopped and took a breath, exhaled and shrugged, "so do I even look like her?" Curiosity got to her and she approached Ashin, "so if you're some sort of genetic clone or relation then you have some access to my mother's information?" Another pause as the familiar Verd grin came to her face, "and you do know this means you're stuck with me right?"

"You're the closest thing to my mom that I'm going to get."

Was she alright? Not really, but she'd have to dwell and focus on everything later on. "Bespin?"

"I've never... actually, see I grew up on Taris did I mention that? Cause, I've only ever seen trash, jungles and ..." Her mind switched gears, "wait did you say noblewoman?"

[member="Ashin Karrde"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Amaya Verd"]

Ashin snorted. "She does indeed. Isley Verd is your father? My, my, the straightlaced high society lady and the Mandalorian witch lord. That's intensely entertaining. As for those who knew her personally, I couldn't tell you. She wasn't overly social, let's say."

Ashin turned away from the window to face the girl with all the questions. "You do look quite a bit like her, as it happens. Like the pictures I've seen, anyway. I have no special access to her life or her files, but you very well might, with the right legal help - something else you can find on Cloud City if you like. I've spent quite a bit of time in cities like that. Feel free to stick with me and I'll see about setting you up to explore your options. It could well be that you've inherited the title to House Cardei on Naboo." She chuckled. "A Taris scavenger might well become a lady of Naboo."

 

[Ria Misrani]

Amaya nodded in acknowledgment, "sounds like something the two of us have in common." She took a seat on one of the sofas there in the lounge, "I don't much socialize either but I- uh, well I don't have much of a choice. When all you have is an axe and a story about your dad." The girl shrugged, "kinda have to start getting social about things." Studded bantha-leather creaked as she shifted her weight on the sofa. She watched Ashin and followed her movements with her eyes. Still curious about the genetic donor aspect of things and then the talk of legality.

"There were plenty of lawyers who showed up on Onderon looking for me." She added a reminder that Naboo sought her. "I never asked them what it was they wanted, and all they could say for sure was that I had to go to Naboo. And, well I just- here I am." Amaya relaxed on the sofa, "because I told them what I told you and..." She stopped the moment she heard something about a title, and becoming a lady. She quirked a raised brow with a very questionable look. "Huh."

"What about legitimacy and all that? I'm Cardei's bastard daughter by way of a Mandalorian Witchlord. A moment of indiscretion, a lapse in judgment. I- I'm no noble."

[member="Ashin Karrde"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Amaya Verd"]

"Oh, you'd be surprised. For all its formality -- the headdresses the size of starships, the caked-on cosmetics, the chrome fetish -- Naboo is remarkably progressive in many ways. Illegitimate children aren't considered illegitimate on Naboo. So I've heard, anyway, and I think it would be vastly entertaining to see you find out for real. Imagine the punctured dignity, the offended decorum." She found herself chuckling and meaning it. "And just think how infuriatingly legitimate you could make your father look to that world with the right phrasing. King of this, Chief Executive of that. You could unite dynasties. Excuse me. I need a moment."

Laughing now, rather to the surprise of the academic passengers and nearby crew, she took one of the observation deck's lounge seats and leaned back to watch hyperspace. "My oh my, wouldn't that be fun." She swiped at her eyes, still chuckling. "Anyways, we'll be at Bespin relatively soon. We can look into your legal options, salvage or repair potential for your ship...even wardrobe upgrades, if you're interested."

 

[Ria Misrani]

Amaya leaned her body against the arm rest, an elbow propped up on the sofa her head resting against a curled fist as she watched the woman laugh her way to a lounge seat. "You mean I could present my father who by the sounds of things as I'm... learning, couldn't keep himself together around a pretty skirt." And her mother well, her aforementioned statement regarding a lapse in judgment. And then the words salvage came to her mind when paired up with her ship. "Oh no the Auli'i is being repaired, I've got to get back to Onderon with her. Only now I'll need to find a way to patch her up so she can better withstand gravimetric distortions." Her mind fluttered back to the mention of Theed Hangar, and the Theed Palace Space Vessel Engineering Corps. Amaya thought more on the Auli'i and a little grin came to her face. It was she who gave the Auli'i its prefix for HVS, House Verd Ship. Starship if you wanted to be technical.

Her eyes narrowed as she thought, "in fact, I think she'll be my test project." The little engineer's mind began to work and cogs were turning, House Verd Hangar and Armory, HVHAR. Of course, there would need to be a more affirmative confirmation of her Naboo heritage. "Wouldn't there have been a birth certificate? As well as paperwork done to give me up and over to the adoption agency or my adoptive mother?" She asked, now that she decided she could use her... late mother's fortunes to her desires that plus the Verd name ought to give her more sway with the clans back home. And to think - she had but her parents to thank for this, even if they were both dead - missing, dead - not present in her life. "I guess I'll be sticking around for a bit then, questions to be answered and a bunch of nobles to disappoint." If they had thought the Cardei line had vanished with Ajira, they were in for a rude awakening. "I guess my mother put in the last bit of necessary plotting, if she wanted to have the last laugh."

[member="Ashin Karrde"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Amaya Verd"]

"It's good to see you're taking a setback as an opportunity so far as the ship's concerned. As far as I can tell, your ship is salvageable. It'll be quite a lot of work, but Cloud City is booming these days. Its markets will have every kind of tool and component you could possibly need. If some of the early details of your inheritance have been straightened out, you could probably dip into Lady Cardei's funds. Wouldn't that set the canid among the avians back on Naboo." She kept on chuckling. "Frankly, the people you spoke with at the Cardei estate could probably set it up for you."

It wouldn't be hard to bounce an encrypted transmission back to Amari Shambleau, her longtime aide in her Cardei guise. Shambleau would likely be just as amused at the thought of Naboo nobility realizing that noble funds were being rerouted to a Mando kid's busted ship on Bespin. Legitimately.

"It's possible your mother planned all this, it's true. Then again, sometimes it's just serendipity. A happy little accident, as an Emperor is reputed to have said."

 

[Ria Misrani]

Amaya listened to [member="Ashin Karrde"] carefully, she still wasn't completely okay with everything. At least, beneath the surface - above, she would appear as if she had. A common thing for her, a child who had had to deal with change on Taris. Granted the changes there weren't nearly as dramatic. "I mean, I don't really need someone to fix my ship for me. I can do it just fine, just need a hangar. I- I don't know if it has been, I mean. I don't remember signing anything because I think I just yelled at them all to get out or told them they were about as bright as a duneback in water."

"Well, wherever she is I'm sure she's getting a kick out of all of this." Amaya quipped out of the side of her mouth. A happy little accident, a forunate happenstance that Ajira had a daughter. She still wanted to see the physical proof, paperwork - blood samples beyond a genetic clone. Amaya's facial features shifted to the thought of having to dig this up on her own at some point. And then of course, Onderon - she would have to get back there. She was devoted to learning more about her father. "How am I going to get to Naboo and be on Naboo when I am wanted and needed by my people? The Mandalorians are fractured, we're surviving on a flotilla and a handful of colonies."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Amaya Verd"]

"Naboo takes itself very seriously, but as long as you show up for the right occasions -- a formal ball, a court appearance -- you can live your life how and where you like. I wouldn't worry too much about finding a good balance."

Ashin's good humor ebbed. The Mandalorian predicament was a serious one. She'd been there in spirit, by an ancient Sith technique, when the decisions were made that hurt the planet Manda'yaim. Unlike most or all, she knew it had been done intentionally; she'd even seen their faces, and killed one of the men who'd done it, Ijaat Mereel. That she'd shoved him into a new body for her own purposes was immaterial. He'd paid a fraction of the price for violating his own homeworld. The part of Ashin that had been a Clan Ordo adoptee was still blackly furious about the whole affair.

"Consider this," she said. "Your people need allies, safe ports of call, ships, and material assets. I can see connections between each of those needs and the possibilities that you appear to have inherited from Lady Cardei. Can't you?"

 

[Ria Misrani]

The cogs and gears began to turn in Amaya's mind once more. She rose to her feet and felt the weight of her people on her shoulders, she was no leader. Not yet - anyway, still a child in as far as they were all concerned. Her people needed to be united, now more than ever she thought to herself as she crossed the lounge and went to face the ever passing stars once more. The girl placed a hand on the glass and looked at the reflection and she wondered for a moment what it was that her father would do, what would Isley Verd do? She didn't know. She didn't even know what Ajira Cardei would do, but perhaps that was for the best. Once more she inhaled deeply and exhaled, "my people need all of those things and more, I haven't been to Mandalore itself... but I've heard things, stories from those that were there." Her voice was quiet, "never have such a mighty people been brought to heel before."

Mandalorians heel? Never. It was a blow for certain, but they would rise once more of this Amaya was sure. What she wasn't sure of was her place in it, and what her purpose was, what her role would be. For so long she had been certain of who she was. Now everything had changed, changed in a single moment. "So then the court would simply accept me at face value? Would the Queen acknowledge that one of her Royals, bred a Mandalorian child?" She asked in all seriousness, "because if I do this and accept this... " Her voice trailed as she gave [member="Ashin Karrde"] a quizzical look, "what do I even call you? Ms. Karrde? Ashin? Cousin Ash? Cousin Kar? Or perhaps Vode as they do on Onderon."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Amaya Verd"]

"Just call me Ashin, Amaya. As for the Queen, don't make the mistake of thinking she has the final word. Her function is mostly diplomatic and ceremonial. In some respects, all the noble houses are equal. The caretaker of House Cardei is a woman named Amari Shambleau. Once she and the lawyers and geneticists have agreed that you're Cardei's daughter, Cardei's bequest to you will do the rest. Cardei accepted you, in a way; what the other nobles think is irrelevant to your legitimacy. There might be stigma, but that's something you can work with.

"You should understand, before you jump off this cliff: prestige will eat your life if you let it. Money, fashion, property, society. You'll have the freedom to live your life as you like, but you may find, at least in the short term, that your new options are compelling. Don't be fooled. You'll never be one of those complacent, elitist, foppish pacifists, and that's a good thing. Lay other plans. Learn what you need to learn to help your people."

 

[Ria Misrani]

Amaya gave a small smile of sorts as Ashin made mention of prestige, money, fashion, property and society of all things. These were things that Amaya never had growing up and in as far as she was concerned, she didn't want them. While the Mandalorians did not have much to give these days, what they did have was enough. Food, warmth and the sense of home, a sense of belonging and it was a sense so easily felt for her. Pacifist? The daughter of Isley Verd wanted to laugh, "no, certainly not - you're right, I could never be any of those things. Even if I tried..." Her voice trailed off for a moment.

Lawyers, geneticists and nobles, oh my. The thought ran across the Mandalorian's mind, but what weighed on her mind was this. Lady Cardei accepted her in a way, and somehow that put some of what Amaya was feeling at ease. She wanted to the question the hows and the whys of her mother's bequest and tracking Amaya down. Somehow, the answer would be summed up in a simple; because she was Lady Ajira Cardei with resources that could track one little Mandalorian girl down. "Ashin, you said you'd be up for helping with all this right?" She asked and then looked about, her body still facing the window of the lounge that faced the stars. "Because I feel that I'm going to be needing, a lot of it."

[member="Ashin Karrde"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Amaya Verd"]

"Don't make light of a temptation you haven't faced," said Ashin gently, behind her on the chair. "Respect addictive things, and many people have found wealth, fame, and power unexpectedly addictive. If you want to be true to yourself, take the possibility seriously and steel yourself against it. Your identity is forged actively, not passively, and there are times you'll have to fight to keep it."

She got up from the lounge chair and came to stand beside Amaya, hands clasped behind her back. "But ignore me: I'm nothing but the captain of a small, weak ship in the middle of nowhere. Many of the lessons you'll have to learn are things I can't teach you, at least not alone. But I can guide you towards the best resources, be a voice on your shoulder, help you steer clear of traps and mistakes -- yes, I can commit to all of that. You're family, after all; I could hardly do otherwise."

 

[Ria Misrani]

Amaya had no real response to the first portion of what Ashin said except to cast a sideways glance the other way. She'd never faced any of it that was true, but she was confident that she could get through it without any trouble. After all, she was just the poor kid from a poor family. "If I can even figure out what that is, I was already having trouble with that before all of this nonsense." It wasn't nonsense but it was a knee-jerk reaction to the idea that she wasn't already struggling to fight for her own identity. Heck, if someone had an idea of what it was she'd be glad to hear it. The Mandalorian girl eyed [member="Ashin Karrde"], she was playing herself down but the younger of the two women didn't push. "Well a guide is better than no guide, wouldn't want to pour any shame on the Cardei name - family, huh?" And the family tree just continued to expand, "alright then."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Amaya Verd"]

"You doubt I am who I say I am. No, I'm not reading your mind; it's only common sense, and you're clever enough to doubt. At least, once I set you up to ask yourself that question. You're right: I'm not what I say I am. Most people aren't, in my experience."

An intercom buzzed. "Bridge to the Captain. We're approaching Bespin."

"I'll be there for reversion, thank you." Ashin glanced at Amaya and smiled. "If you ever want to know more about me, you're family: all you have to do is ask. Assuming you truly want to know, anyway.

"Once we take our shuttles down to Cloud City, I'll have a bit of business to conduct for the university. Feel free to roam the city. I'll give you my comm number for when you're ready to deal with our business."

 

[Ria Misrani]

B E S P I N​

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"Could this place get any fancier?" Amaya wondered aloud as she disembarked the Shamballa. Suddenly she felt way underdressed and slightly embarrassed by the fact, as a rouge-colored tone took hold of her face. She grumbled, what did it matter if she wore leather and looked as if she just came out of a battle. If half of them fought with the engines like she did they'd be just as rough too. Still, the young woman headed down toward customs. "Amaya Verd..." The Mandalorian entered her name and allowed the droid to scan her and when he mentioned something about her weapons she sighed. Taking them off her back she asked, "so where do I put them?"

"You may rent a locker or I may take it and secure it behind the counter."

Not a chance in all karkin' voidstars would she let some droid take her weapons. "Can I have my uh... Cousin, take them?" She jerked her thumb back toward Ashin. "Ashin Karrde, yeah."

"Of course."

Right. Amaya waited by customs like a child impatiently waiting for their parent to hurry up with whatever duties they were conducting. "So, you gotta take my weapons because oh no, Mandalorian in Cloud City. Like I'm gonna go all wild or something," she scoffed and handed her weapons toward Karrde. "Unless there's some little assistant that takes care of this..."

[member="Ashin Karrde"].

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Amaya Verd"]

Feth, but it had been a long time since Ashin held proper Mando weapons. She did her best not to make a big deal of it, but she realized a moment too late how familiarly she’d accepted and handled them. “No assistant; I’ll take care of them. Tell you what.” She fished out a credit chit. “Here’s a little running-around money. Go get yourself something that’ll help you blend in. You’ll be more relaxed when you go comm the lawyers and do whatever other business you need to handle. I’ll catch up with you this evening. There’s a midscale cantina not too far from here called Aelyrium - meet me there around seven local. That should give both of us plenty of time to attend to what needs doing.

”Be careful out there, though. This isn’t a place to hit first, or second, or run your mouth when someone’s rude. The First Order takes security pretty seriously, and they’ll know you for a warrior as soon as they look at you.”