Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos

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A Spiritual Journey

Chalacta was as far as Amilthi had managed to get, as it was difficult to find transportation from the Core directly into Hutt space, where her destination lay. Not that Chalacta was a disagreeable place. Its people were serious, but not unwelcoming, and heirs to a rich spiritual tradition that Amilthi would have liked to inquire into at one point or another. But now, she had reason to lose no time to pursue her interests on Teth. The mission she had set for herself had the ulterior purpose of facilitating contact with the B'omarr monks on Tatooine, and with that planet now situated in Imperial space, and right at the border with the Confederacy of Independent systems, with whom the Empire did not enjoy warm relations, it was not clear how long it would remain easily accessible, and it seemed likely that the monks would make even greater efforts to shut themselves off from the world at large the more the situation destabilised.

And so, Amilthi was looking to get off Chalacta by way of catching a ride into Hutt space; not in the capital Jordir, which entertained relations with the more civilised parts of the galaxy, but one of the smaller cities, where she could expect more varied and unusual opportunities.

The small spaceport wasn't extraordinarily busy, and indeed someone used to the hustle and bustle of the bigger places would have found it positively slumbering. People and a few isolated droids were hauling cargo off and onto smaller freighters, others could be spotted on top or underneath their ships, muttering to themselves in every language, cursing, and exclaiming with satisfaction as their attempts at maintenance and repairs failed or succeeded.

In her coarse blue skirt, beige tunic, and roomy grey robe, the Jedi wasn't turning many eyes. She looked very much the part of the impoverished foreigner stranded in this place, perhaps someone who had come to Chalacta on an idealistic spiritual search. It made her uninteresting to all but the most exploitatively inclined.

There was only one thing that, on closer examination, didn't quite fit the picture was that she didn't appear in the least dejected or worried. She carried herself in the way of someone who was calm, happy, and confidently resting in herself. Her eyes, very awake, took in her surroundings observantly, but not nervously. It was more like she was simply interested in what was going on, rather than guarding against some unfavourable eventuality she was concerned about.

Amilthi tried to open herself up to the scene and let her feelings guide her to a place where she might perhaps find what she sought.

[member="Marina DeVoe"]​
 

Marina DeVoe

Not a flight attendant... just a risk.
This drop-off had gone smoother than she had expected, considering the limited amount of credits the small group had when she agreed to take on the contract to take them to Chalacta. Their destination, as Marina learned on that 2 day jump was the Temple of Illumination...they were pilgrims.

Normally and most times, she would avoid any contracts to the Mid Rim that was under Hutt control. But more often than she would like to have admitted too, she found herself traversing through these territories one way or another. And for what she had agreed on, barely paid for the fuel for her ship to get back to safely within the Core worlds again. Still, some profit was better than no profit. Besides, no one else had wanted to take on those poor souls and they had been plying for weeks. She had only had the privi of meeting them when they were somehow directed to her. At first it was a ridiculous price for even thinking of nearing such a system deep in Hutt space, let alone transverse around new deemed Imperial space to get to Hutt space. And for the amount of credits these people had? It had been clear as to why these folk had been without luck in acquiring anyone to transport them to Chalacta.

So they were somehow sent over to see her. At first, Marina had with all respect turned down their offer. But their plight was one of spirituality and it was difficult to justify only taking on the contract if the credits were high enough. She wasn't ruthless. Nor was she desperate. As an owner/operator, she was occasionally running legit shipments for her dependable employers..Cetril Enterprises. Well, Cetril Enterprises..it's shipping Co was owned by her family. But there was never a handout to Marina, no. She was under agreement with her family that she had to earn her own way. So occasionally, she would be employed by Cetril Shipping and that made pretty much all ends meet when other ventures dipped her in the reds.

Her passengers had just left not more than 4 hours past and Marina was preparing the Mariner to leave the system and make a quick jump to someplace with a little more breathing room. Actually, as credits were currently paying to refuel her ship, they were quite low and once more she would have no choice but to seek another contract with Cetril. She didn't mind doing that, but it did give clue to her family that she was struggling to keep her head afloat on her own. Just that her love of space and travelling was what kept her jumping along from one system to another...even such a system like Chalacta. It hadn't been on her list of systems..but then how many systems had she dropped in on that weren't either?

"Gah...what now?" Marina, was alerted to the delivery system alarm on her console that the fuel she had ordered had stopped transferring.
Her fuel levels confirmed the tanks reserves. She'd have to get out and check the line herself. Not that she hadn't before boarding the Mariner to complete some pre-flight checks, but it seemed the competence in the port workers left much to be desired here.

The problem lay in a tripped breaker on the delivery system side, as Marina quickly diagnosed their problem.
"What do you mean it happens a lot?... " She curiously asked of the worker when he laughed it off as such.
He explained that without someone manually engaging the valve, in auto it would trip quite a lot. Sure enough as she was standing there, the fuel pumps tripped again.
"Har..har...not funny at all, you know." She replied to his chuckling.
"Well, I can't stay here all day, miss. I'll be back after I attend to the ship in dock 12...then the other one in 4...then.. " He continued down the line, shaking his head still chuckling as he walked off. It was apparent what was going to take place to get fuel in her tanks. She'd have to do it herself.
"Grrr..." she gave a low growl.

And so an hour later, Marina was still holding the valve open to the fuel delivery line, for the worker being the only one employed in that port had gone to put his finger on another dike so to speak. But what was she to do? Wait for the port worker to reset and reset again that faulty breaker? And then what, have her ship refueled by next week on solstice day, according to the port's worker's schedule?
Nope..another few more minutes and she'd be fueled up and ready to get her tail off this rock.
 
In the end, as so often, it wasn't her feelings that guided Amilthi, but her faculty of reason. She needed a pilot she could speak to, which ruled out the pair of Aqualish she saw awkwardly negotiate with a dock worker. To travel with human and near-human men, especially alone, always carried the risk of annoyances and hurt egos.

Eventually she saw a Rodian emerging from underneath a positively ancient YT-1000 freighter. She approached him just as he was about to scramble up the ramp.

"<Hello. I need to go to Teth>", she said in Huttese.

"<No no no. I'm not going to Teth.>"

He seemed agitated, as far as Amilthi could read the alien's demeanour, and she looked at him quizzically. "<I didn't mean for free.>"

"<I said I'm not going to Teth! Now buzz off.>"

Without a further word, he turned around abruptly and went up the ramp into his ship, letting Amilthi stand where she was. He probably had his reasons; lots of people had reasons not to want to go to one planet in Hutt space or another. With a shrug, the Jedi turned away and continued to wander through the spaceport.

A few moments later, she spotted a human woman standing by the side of a ship where a hose was connected to the craft, probably delivering fuel. Amilthi approached and addressed her, smiling briefly to establish her friendliness.

"Hello. I'm looking for someone to take me to Teth", she said.

[member="Marina DeVoe"]​
 

Marina DeVoe

Not a flight attendant... just a risk.
Her arm was beyond tired as she held that damn coupling, keeping the fuel valve open. Her wrist crono read back the amount of fuel in her ship's reserves which were near full. Just another moment or two and maybe she could get her arm working again, for she was certain it was going to be real sore by the time she was done.
Being pre-occupied with her refueling effort, Marina never picked up the robed figure approaching her till a voice, a female voice called her attention.

Beep..beep..beep.. sounded off her cron. Oh thank the Heavens refueling was completed, she silently sighed a relief.

"Just..." Marina struggled with the coupling at the end of the fuel line." ...just give me a moment.." She managed to secure the valve closed and just dropped the line where it was..or rather where she stood.
"Oh, the gods!..." She slumped her arm which had held that defective valve open and was massaging it now with the other.
Her eyes and attention took in the figure. yes, it was female..sure the voice sounded like a human female, but many non human, whatever gender or asexual sounded like human when speaking basic too.
But sure enough this one was human. At least human enough looking for Marina to ascertain that it were of her gender. Then again, the population here on Chalacta were not full human, but near human and well...well they could pass for human.
Marina shook off those wandering thoughts that often led her astray from the moment.

"Er..excuse me...did you say, Teth?" She asked as that system didn't ring a bell in her head, no. It percussioned a big BONG!
Teth wasn't even on this side of Hutt space. it was on the other side..through and through all of Hutt space. Currently they were still not deep in Hutt space, but to get to Teth, she would have to transverse through their entire territory. And there were horrid rumors that the Hutts, or to be more precise: their underworld minions had acquired gravity wells..ones similar to those which the vile Imperials had. And ships equiped with such gravity wells literally drew ships out of hyperspace. They were traps. Traps that set off proximity warnings on nav comps that falsly dropped a ship out of hyperspace thinking a large asteroid/moon/planet was in its calculated flight path. Marina had never experienced one, and she hoped to keep it that way.
And this human wanted to go to Teth?..Marina hoped she heard wrong. After all, her arm ached and maybe the robed figure meant a nice docile system somewhere deep in the core...right? Of course not, as Marina did hear right. But a girl could dream.

"Teth is...out there..." Marina stopped massaging her sore arm to gesture a point. "...Out...O..U..T..out there at the end of the Outer Rim....You do know that, right?" Obviously pointing out the..obvious; as she returned to the task of reviving her arm back into service. God it was sore.






@ Amilthi Camlennhttp://starwarsrp.net/user/16116-amilthi-camlenn/
 
Amilthi waited patiently for the woman to be victorious in her struggle with the fuel line. Not the most well-maintained equipment, certainly, but then what could one expect in a small spaceport such as this. She felt a twinge of compassion for Marina as she began to rub her sore arm.

She, too, was flustered by the mention of Teth. Amilthi smiled at her, folding her hands in front of her stomach. "Yes, that very Teth", she confirmed quite calmly and seemingly unconcerned. To the extent that such an irregular shape as Hutt space could be said to have another side, Teth was pretty much exactly on the other side of it from Chalacta. It was possible to get there by avoiding Hutt space, too, going around it in the north and then taking the Triellus Trade Route back south to Teth, but that latter part meant spending a lot of time at the very edge of wild space, which this pilot seemed to be particularly wary of.

"You may well find better fuel lines deeper in Hutt space. I hear they like earning money there", Amilthi remarked with a smirk. "But all the better if you can make the journey with a stop."

[member="Marina DeVoe"]​
 

Marina DeVoe

Not a flight attendant... just a risk.
The part of the populous in Hutt space likening to earn credits sparked a smile on Marina's features. It clearly showed this woman was not desperate and could make light of things that otherwise were worrisome to others.
And of course this woman knew Teth, for she wouldn't be asking if she didn't. Marina took a deep breath and thought about it. The woman had also indicated that she wouldn't mind a stop. This made all the difference, as it wasn't one of those request to get there yesterday. This called for some considerations...not just a flat yes or no.

"I'll have to check my nav maps...but if you don't mind a jump or two re-angleling...I could circumvent around a lot of Hutt space and say...." Marina was guesstimating the trip in her head.
"....get you there, in say...2-3 days?..."
Naturally she would have to get on her nav comp and plot out the best optimum jumps to clear most of the greater Hutt controlled territories to then skim across the outer tangile arm of Sky River (SW Galaxy's name by the way) to get to Teth....like coming in on it through the back yard.
Hmm... this was something she had mulled over before, but never really had the opportunity before. Still, it would be up to the woman, if she didn't mind the detour.

"It's just a guess right now. I wouldn't exactly know until I plot things out...but if you can spare 3 days at most for worst case scenarios...I can possibly find an optimal avenue to shorten that once I get to plotting that detour." Marina put forth the conditions and probabilities to the woman, if she wanted to book a flight to Teth on the Mariner IV.
Then of course, there would be the price. Booking a jump ship never came cheap. The cost of fuel, time, accommodations, and risk never were free. But that would be next if the woman was willing to gamble a possible 2-3 day trip at most. If the woman agreed Marina would invite her into her ship. Inside and after plotting the course, the actual time, amount of possible jumps, and price would come into play.





[member="Amilthi Camlenn"]
 
The woman knew how to take good care of her ship, as it looked to be in good enough condition, but a seasoned Outer Rim pilot, she was not. For one thing, she had a Core world accent. Her reluctance to enter Hutt space came from a very different place than the rodian's. Amilthi gave the ship another, closer look, and noticed that she couldn't spot any armaments. Perhaps they were on the top side, but if there weren't any, that might provide some justification. Strangers who didn't know how to defend themselves were liable to be viewed as exploitable fools by the rugged inhabitants of the various Nals.

Amilthi's eyes returned to Marina. "I'm not pressed for time." She was, however, somewhat pressed for money, though it wasn't yet time to say so, and the pilot might get it into her head to charge her extra for the increase in fuel expenditure from the longer route. "Though you shouldn't be too worried. I'm good at dealing with people who try funny things." Those words might have sounded immodest, but the Jedi spoke as if this were a completely natural statement of fact.

She stepped aside to let Marina pass when she invited her into the ship to discuss further terms, then followed, stopping only briefly on the ramp to throw another glance at the space port.

[member="Marina DeVoe"]​
 

Marina DeVoe

Not a flight attendant... just a risk.
Time then was not a factor in getting to Teh. Marina nodded, with just enough apprehension that may have given clue that she certainly never had taken her ship that far out in the galaxy's arm. But it was something that she had wanted to do and had put it on the back burner for a chance. And with a deep breath and sigh..the chance was now.
Nodding to further take this business venture to the next level, she invited the woman up into her ship. It was evident that it was not lavishly decorated but clean and well considered first class accommodations for passengers.

Small talk got their names squared away and along with that Marina was able to pick up on the woman's modesty and well manners. This was a plus for Marina, as she most certainly preferred dealing with the more civilized if not properly raised with etiquette life forms. And this woman was indeed human and a female too. That made communication, small talk and having some common interests all the more merrier for the trip, if indeed it were to stretch for more than 2 days. But all that would soon be revealed as Marina sat down on the nav comp console and plotted various degree of ship trajectories to take them to Teh. Sure enough an optimal course could be set with just one stop over..or one drop to re-angle for final shot to the system. It did require skimming the most outer part of Hutt space, but it was clearly out of any known systems that were worth of any natural resources to ever warrant more than a few outpost colonies to say the least...

"Ok..there..." Marina pointed to one good possible optimal route. It was a 13 hr jump to first drop, then another 18 hr jump straight toward the current orbit of Teth. Seemed they got lucky, for Teth's orbit in that system had it standing clear from their first stop drop from any other star system millions of light years between. Such windows in all jump calculations were small..tiny micro coordinate angles. Just a fraction of a miscalculation on start point and that micro-angle meant millions of miles of error and possible collisions with bodies.

"If we jump with the hour, that window will remain open enough still for us to get there in less than a day and a half..." Marina showed Amilthi their best open and shortest route.... all along the tally for that trip was also showing, as it was programmed into the comp. It was an honest and modest sum to say the least. And it was by all accounts, for Marina always did business in a fair and ethical manner. She pretty much disclosed everything...

The credit amount was there and it was itemized. There really was no room for negotiating, as it was clearly apparent that it was a fair charge.

"Well...there we have it. I couldn't possibly squeeze that route any tighter as it may well take us almost straight through Hutt space...which I can't do, Amilthi." Marina finally said, turning from the nav console and facing the young woman.
Marina had already let her feelings known about what Amilthi had said about not worrying and that she could deal with characters who would give them trouble.
Marina had not doubted that Amilthi couldn't, but that would be on a face to face encounter and in person. Marina herself had talked her way out of trouble both from Imps and the Underworld (not Hutt based). Out there in open space and against armed marauders...it was a matter all too different. No one could do anything about a pirate ship yanking them from hyperspace and blasting their engines or a good sized hole in the ship...leaving them to be at the mercy of their captures if they weren't sucked out into space when they got hit...and this ship had no defenses.
 
This was certainly an unusual way of doing business. In the developed economies of the core worlds, haggling over prices was not customary except in the poorest areas, but out here, to find a private transporter pilot who would not start by naming an outrageous sum was quite the rarity. It might have been for the best that Amilthi was not very adept at manipulating a mind away from a pointed purpose it had taken up - she would constantly have been tempted.

Marina insisted that she wouldn't go through Hutt space, and that was understandable enough. Amilthi's worries had not materialised, so there was no reason to push her on this point. "Very well then", she agreed to the proposition.

Amilthi wondered who this person was who came out here ferrying people without trying to sucker them out of their money, in a ship that had no weapons and, perhaps, no other defences to make up for it, either. Even the group of Jedi she had briefly been with, who made a point of refraining from violence, had put an ion cannon or two on their ships, besides powerful shields and engines to ensure they could evade any threat. But what Marina was doing seemed to be bordering on irrational negligence. And yet, neither herself nor her ship looked any worse for it. Perhaps she was simply extremely adept at making people like her, or had a gift for just avoiding unsavoury characters.

"How long have you been running this, forgive my saying so, unusual operation of yours?" inquired Amilthi, looking at Marina with her head inclined in curiosity, a fine smile on her lips.

[member="Marina DeVoe"]
 

Marina DeVoe

Not a flight attendant... just a risk.
" Flying on and off...for quite sometime." She replied as she led Amilthi through the main part of the ship, the upper deck which housed all the creature comforts of cabins and amenities. The lower deck naturally was for cargo, fuel tanks, and water purification system etc..

" I'm actually an owner/operator flying under Cetril Enterprises' registration and commerce licences." She said in all honesty, slightly omitting the fact that her family owned Cetril Enterprises and that she had an unusual arrangement with her family. In truth, Marina had been educated and acquired a doctorate degree in political science. She, being the second daughter of House DeVoe had always eyes to the stars. In short; after completing her education her family agreed to commission a ship for her to use and explore the galaxy. Only that she had to make her own way if she wanted to do so.

" But if you're apprehensive about my flying abilities, I have been flying...or rather sneaking into the family hangars and runabouts since I was 6 years old and barely able to even work the controls...hehe.." She recalled a tad of her youthful spirit.
Flying came naturally to Marina,and at an early age. Her eyes were always up over the horizon on those rare cloudless nights on the Aeiden Mountains of Alderaan.

"Oh..here we are.. this cabin is across from mine. Its one of the two more larger ones. But should you wish not to be so forward...just down the corridor there..." she gestured toward the end of the corridor where the open galley could be seen.

"...past the galley, you'll find there are 6 more smaller cabins, should you wish to have some quiet time...like a good rest away from the cockpit area" Not that the cockpit area forward was noisy, but Marina figured if the woman wanted full privacy, then around the end of the corridor was a good bet for her to be alone.
The ship wasn't large, but the upper deck was well laid out to accommodate passengers, which included a private Jacuzzi room, across from the main sanitary/refresher room. Marina took a moment to point out the layout to her guest.

"Well, that's the quick tour...I can show you more after we're on our way...." She then said as she turned to head on toward the cockpit.

"...I'm not meaning to rush...just that that window is ticking and I want to make sure we get through a good opening and not worry about a tight squeeze." She meant the stars and Teth system alignments which were forever and variably changing. The plotted course had given them close to an hour window of launch or they would have to recalculate and possibly have a longer jump.
So Marina wasn't trying to blow off a conversation with Amithi, no. She had to take off soon and be sure that that window was good and open for them. She turned to her guest, just as the cockpit door swished open.

"You know you could ride up from anytime you know. I don't mind company..." Marina opened the invite.
But that would be up to her guest, if she was wanting some time alone or rest. But if the woman was in mind for some conversation, she was all up for it. For this was going to be a day and a half two part jump trip to Teth.
 
Amilthi listened quietly and merely gave Marina an amused smile that should have reassured her that her piloting skills were not the object of suspicion. She noted that the woman had gracefully glossed over her pointing out the unusualness of this and decided to simply accept this curiosity as it was and regard its existence as a pleasant surprise. Sometimes, nice things did happen in this universe.

"Thank you", said Amilthi as she was shown a cabin, and put down the cloth bag in which she had been carrying her meagre belongings. The ship provided much more comfort than Amilthi had any use for. She had reached a point where she mostly did not rely on the external world for pleasant everyday experiences anymore, but was able to find them within her own mind. "Don't let me retain you."

Amilthi was not the most talented at engaging people, but that did not mean that she was not perceptive. And even if she had not been, it would have required a particular sort of ineptitude to remain unaware of the fact that Marina didn't want to be alone. Her entire manner suggested that she wasn't the sort of person who thrived in solitude, and many passengers probably weren't good company, not to speak of cargo.

"In fact, if you don't mind - I haven't watched a take-off from the cockpit in a while. It's been some time since I last flew myself", remarked the Jedi with an apologetic smile.

[member="Marina DeVoe"]​
 

Marina DeVoe

Not a flight attendant... just a risk.
"Ok then..." Marina beamed a smile, and led the way into the spacious 4 seat cockpit.

"Co-pilot seat is available..." she said as she took her own seat up front and got busy on the console confirming the nav comp had transferred the jump coordinates to the cockpit. A quick check on it and Marina locked it in.

The whining of the sub-light engines came on line as the Mariner IV's pre-launch sequence automatically retracted the boarding ramp and hermetically sealed the hull. The life support which was inaudible soon filtered out Chalacta's distinct air, scrubbing it clean and maintaining perfect oxygen levels. All this was happening within that very minute, including getting up to the minute air traffic by way of the ship's proximity sensors. The skies over head were clear, along the projected ascension flight path to exit Chalacta's system.

"Here we go.." Marina turned to give her passenger a reassuring smile, then engaged the thrusters. The ship but give a little shudder as it lifted off the surface. It was hardly noticeable, other than the dock around them was descending below the view ports to soon overlook the entire town to then looking down and over the many other string of lights which made up towns, cities and soon most were lost to the clouds upon which the Mariner was still ascending through.

Chalacta soon could be seen as a huge and beautiful crystal ball as the ship angled and followed its intended imaginary flight line through high orbit, heading out into a predetermined point in space. That point was the jump point, and they could see it coming up by way of the nav comp countdown.

...4....3...2...1... *..... The ship engaged its hyper-drive. In an instant, the all too familiar starburst welcomed them into hyperspace. Marina's eyes were affixed for a moment at the starburst, for it never got old with her. The entire dissension and jump was well buffered by the on board comp which regulated internal ship gravity.

Marina was still at the console going over the autopilot that was set to take them to their re-angleling drop point...13 hrs away.

"Whew...didn't hit anything going up this time..." She couldn't help but make an all too common joke as she swung her seat over to face Amilthi.
She hadn't had any time to chit-chat during launch and didn't want her passenger to think that she was being avoided.
 
Sitting in the co-pilot's seat, upright and with a very straight back, yet surprisingly comfortable, Amilthi watched pensively as the ship's nose turned upwards towards the sky, whose blue became ever darker minute after minute as they approached the edge of the atmosphere. The stars became visible as blue eventually turned to black. Amilthi looked back at the planet she had only so briefly touched down on. The planets in the galaxy were innumerable, and yet so many had very unique characteristics. This was one of them, and one that attracted her very much with its promise of much to learn. She would be sure to come back at a quieter time.

"Not much there to hit", the Jedi pointed out with a wry smile in response to Marina's self-deprecating comment.

"You haven't been to the Outer Rim much, have you?" she asked conversationally, but not without an agenda. Marina would have to be careful about picking passengers on the way back, if any could even be found. Behaving as she now was, she would appear rather vulnerable to the trained eye, and one could be sure that such trained eyes were on the lookout on Teth. Unless - and while this possibility appeared increasingly unlikely, it was not to be discounted entirely - this was just the way she conducted herself around Amilthi and she had a different persona to adopt in other circumstances.

[member="Marina DeVoe"]​
 

Marina DeVoe

Not a flight attendant... just a risk.
"No, not these two tingle portions of Skyriver, no..." Marina replied as she ran her finger on one of the consoles. The cockpit glass darkened and reduced the intensity of the light tunnel. The interior illumination made proper compensations.

"But experiences have not been unfruitful to know what and when to avoid such trips..even this one.." She then said looking over to Amilthi.
I'm no force user or the like..but there is still this thing called intuition." Marina leaned back on her seat again.
"You didn't set off any red flags..."
A shrug of her shoulders, then.. "... And you seemed to want to go to Teth, so-...." She was struggling to find the words..maybe to possibly describe what intuition lead her to take on a passenger to Teth. "...so, I don't know... " A small chuckle.

"I always wanted to go.. you know, somewhere out on this side of the Outer Rim. I've always had curiosity to explore...see the Galaxy..good and bad.." Marina explained as best she could of her inner drive.
And that drive had put her in various predicaments like run in with the Underworld..pirates, bounty hunters..mercenaries...even Imperials that were not yet known..a remnant that had broken away from the Galactic Empire after the Battle of Endor and formed their own states. No, nothing like a First Order, no. But new independant states, as the Old Republic had failed these systems too. So they went deep..they went silent. Marina's one time only hyperdrive overload had her emerge in that portion of uncharted space. To her surprise, these Imps were nothing at all like those of the known galaxy. Maybe one day they would emerge.. maybe even help the Republic regain what had been broken 850 years past and ghelp turn the tides.
There were many more factions undiscovered or exposed yet to the Galaxy..this much Marina learned, through her experiences.
Maybe this young woman Amilthi saw much more than Marina, sure....but same could be said of Marina..maybe she saw more or what Amilthi hadn't seen or experienced yet too.
And if the gods or so-called force if it trully did bind this Galaxy together willed that these two should share or deiscover something new together, then it would be said to be the 'will of the force.' Only time would answer that.

But one thing remained true and that was Marina. Her spirit, despite all that she had seen and experienced, kept her the same. She remained who she was from start to this day here. If anything, one could say she were not weak minded, despite that she was open and friendly. It were those characteristics which made her fit in...everywhere.
And it were a trait that Marina believed to have stemmed from her ancestors of the former ancestral Alderaan, for she was a descendant of the surviving Alderaaneans that were off wold when the Galactic Empire destroyed it. And her linage had always been unbroken..her family on both sides had always only married Alderaanean.

" Say...this ship is on a bee-line course for like 13 hours. How about we get some refreshments..tea..java...whatever you like at the galley.
The ship's comp will signal when we're ready to drop out. You could even rest up after a stim-caf or whatever...get some shut eye before we emerge to re-angle for the final jump." Marina had to offer.
After all, it were part of the amenities that came with the flight.

And of course, it would be a better opportunity to learn more of her passenger..where she'd been and what she dreamed of. Those aspects of people, even alien life forms always intrigued Marina.
 
"Well, I'm not what you need to be worried about", said Amilthi, looking out into the blue swirl of hyperspace. She turned back to Marina with a soft smile. "Just be careful when you leave from there."

"I wouldn't mind a cup of tea." It was apparently a quirk of Amilthi's biology that stimcaf put her into a disagreeable agitated state. It was not something that a sort meditation session could not set right, but that rather defeated the point of the beverage. She had known others, a Jedi Padawan even, who received from it a calm clarity and even preferred to drink it before meditation practice. "Stimcaf is always too much for me", she added with a wry smile that disappeared very suddenly. Amilthi had noticed, not without displeasure, how she felt reluctant to leave Marina alone. It was as if she was being drawn to fulfil the other person's need for human contact, and while she would not refuse someone an act of kindness, on some level she resented it. She resolved not to hurry to end the conversation, but leave it after tea when the next opportunity for graceful exit arose.

[member="Marina DeVoe"]​
 

Marina DeVoe

Not a flight attendant... just a risk.
"Alrighty, then..." Marina got up, but not without giving the console another once over.
Everything was purring like a lap cat, but she never became placid when it came to flying... after all, the ship were not a living entity and needed a pilot or someone to check that all it's functions were in perfect harmony.

The corridor wasn't too narrow or long that lead them straight back to the open galley. It wasn't lavish, but quite functional and very tidy and clean.
"Flash frozen meals.." Marina tapped the cryogenic storage cabinet before settling over the pulse induction range that pretty much almost instantly could heat anything to set temp. "...just help yourself anytime."
After all, they had another 12 hours and counting, not to mention another 18 after that before reaching their destination. There would be time for sleep somewhere along that time...and to replenish burned calories..

But she didn't need to use the range as there was purified water on heated tap. She poured two cups of hot water and brought over the detached container from the shelf over to the table. Amilthi had quite a few options of varied herbs that fell into tea categories from different common systems...mostly from inner core systems. The amenities were already secured on the table, and Marina slid herself with her cup in.

"Say, if you don't mind me asking..." she said as she steeped one of the teas she had selected from the selection.
"...were you on Chalacta on a pilgrimage?... I noticed it is commonly known for its..it's Illumination temple or something like that." she then reached for what looked like honey sweetner.
"Like, it has something to do with the force...religion?.." She curiously asked, as she had just dropped off a group of pilgrims that were headed to The Temple of Illumination. Only that the group kept to themselves and she pretty much had to play pilot all throughout that 2 day jump.
Talk about being alone in a crowded room...
 
"Thank you", said Amilthi, sitting down and busying herself with the preparation of a cup of Tarine tea.

She leaned back and let the cup rest on her thigh, paying attention to the area of her skin where she felt its weight. It was a very diffuse feeling, and there was a curious inconstancy to it: as she kept her attention on it, it occasionally seemed to disappear entirely, only to return again a fraction of a second later. After several seconds, the warmth of the cup had made its way through the fabric of her skirt. Amilthi examined this sensation, too.

Then she finally looked up at Marina. "I was there simply because I found no-one to take me closer to Teth from Coruscant", she explained. "The Temple of Illumination, yes. There resides a community known as the Chalactan Adepts. They are quite ready to receive those who wish to share their insights, and demand nothing in return but respect and gratitude. They're quite unlike some other monastic orders in that regard, who ask for more commitment from those who desire to be taught."

Amilthi took a sip of her tea, noticing the pain in her lip that the hot liquid brought, observing it with defiance until it went away. "The Force? No", she said pensively. "That is another matter."

[member="Marina DeVoe"]​
 

Marina DeVoe

Not a flight attendant... just a risk.
Marina took notice as to Amilthi's figiting with the cup and at the moment only chalked it up to that. Not that she were observing the girl , but they were in conversation and body language was part of communication too. Perhaps the girl didn't wish to reveal too much of herself, Marina started to surmise.
That was fine, for she did respect privacy...just like she had done with the previous passengers. She had not been part of the group, just a chauffeur of sort. So she respected their privacy in excluding her from their conversations.

Stirring in the honey sweetener for a while, she then added a dash of citric, before taking the cup to her lips.
Giving a moment to pass in doing so, she smiled over to Amilthi.
"It's going to be quite some time before we reach Teth...and I'm not sure how long you've been held over on Chalacta...but if you seek to wind down..rest awhile in your cabin, don't let me keep you up." She genuinely spoke.

Maybe the girl was tired..possibly overtired and they had nearly a day and a half to kill. So maybe a good rest would make all the difference in the galaxy for her.
Marina was that way...thinking about others most times. Well, when they were in her care so to speak... as in being her passengers that is. After all, it was their flight and they reserved the right to do as they pleased when it came to being guests. She was just a host, if all that was required of her.

Besides, a good shut eye did wonders to cut the mundane time that had to be spent during a hyper-drive crossing.


"
 
It surprised Amilthi that Marina was prepared to accept her words without any question and was entirely content with the brief explanation. She realised that she was mentally, and perhaps outwardly, too, treating the other woman as if she were much younger, despite the fact that the two of them were likely about the same age. She made a mental note of this fact and set it aside for consideration later. Now it was time for her tea.

"Well", she said with a polite smile as she set down her cup, "I think I'm going to do just that."

***​

Retired to her cabin, Amilthi removed her robe and sat down cross-legged on the bed. She closed her eyes and began to pay attention to her breath entering and leaving her nostrils. She was breathing quite slowly, and not very deeply, but fairly regularly, and observed this for a little while. Eventually, she felt how her body let go of the tension that had accumulated over the course of the day. It opened itself up and allowed the Force to flow through it, freely. That, at least, was the universally accepted metaphor among Jedi for this state of perception. It was not, after all, like the Force was any sort of stuff, which could flow from one place to another, be concentrated here as opposed to elsewhere. But for some reason, everybody who reached this state immediately agreed that to say that energy was flowing through the body was the appropriate description.

Amilthi persisted in this state for maybe half an hour, at which point she decided to enter a different state. It felt as if she was opening something within herself and allowed that energy to flow from her body into her soul. She was being flooded with a feeling of bliss that was not in any way localised in the body, in fact washed over her bodily sensations and all but drowned them out entirely. She felt very energised, and there was a certain instability about the state. There was all this energy, which seemed to want to go somewhere, and she didn't quite know what to do with it and had to contain it. Then, suddenly, she let it dissipate and fell into a tranquil state of blissful equanimity. In this, she remained for some period of time that was much longer than it felt.

With a little smile that had crept on her lips, she eventually opened her eyes again, allowing her attention to return to the regular input of her senses. She got up only to rid herself of her clothes and then, relaxed and content as she was, fell asleep almost immediately.

***​

Many hours later, Amilthi reemerged from the cabin, without her robe and in a light blue skirt. She felt very alert after her morning meditation, if this was to be called morning, but also, and perhaps because of it, aware of the fact that she hadn't had the opportunity to wash properly in a while, and so she intended to avail herself of the unusual amenities of this ship. Not remembering precisely the location, she set out to wander around the upper deck in search of the washrooms. In light of the ship's small size, success in this search was likely to be almost instantaneous.

[member="Marina DeVoe"]​
 

Marina DeVoe

Not a flight attendant... just a risk.
The cold mountain air somehow didn't have the same bite she was so accustomed too... but then again, she was cycling through a series of dreams. Dreams that flowed,melding from one to the other, but still keeping a sort of rhythm which bound all of them together in a meaning, if one were to recall them.
Most times she didn't. Then there were those deja vu moments in her life that she could have sworn she had been there or done that or could swear she had met the entities crossing her life for the first time that they had met...elsewhere..in a different time...place.

The sounds of seagulls made her dream self turn from the icy cold mountain trail to face the sea. The cold had turned to warmth and she went with it, not questioning as to how she had been drawn to the same beach several dreams now.
Although the hawking and cawing of the seagulls around her became repetitive enough to awaken her to the Beep..beep...beep sound of her alarm...or more precisely the ship's alarm that they would be dropping out of their jump soon.

Marina looked over to the display screen near her bed. One hour to drop out. Giving a good stretch, she tossed the covers off and readied herself.

Coming out of her cabin, she looked down the corridor over to the galley, then made for the cockpit. She always checked on the ship before anything else.
They were nearing their first drop point to then re-angle for their final and longer 18 hour jump. All systems were humming and in perfect harmony to boot. Marina closed her eyes and took in the ship's sounds. In many ways, it could be said she was attuned to the ship. Checking that all systems were optimal, she looked over the nav comp countdown.
20 minutes left to go. Time for a stimcaf and a snack.

Passing her guest's cabin, she paused a minute, wondering if she should knock and let Amilthi know they were nearly at the end of their first jump. But just when the back of her index was about to knock,she stopped. It were strange, for she didn't know why. Withdrawing her hand, she continued on toward the galley. Marina often followed her intuition like that...however mundane it was. And it didn't feel the need to let her tap on the door.

Getting her stimcaf and sweet roll, she headed back to the cockpit.
By the time she were finished, the countdown to emerge drooped down into seconds. She had readied herself in taking control of her ship, getting the sub-light engines on line. The Mariner would need them to transverse around the 7 planet system that they would be entering. Basically the Mariner had to re-angle after clearing the 3rd planet in the system. Then it would be a clear shot to Teth system.

...4....3....2....1... 0...
The star field collapsed, almost having an optical effect that they were suddenly going backward. It was a typical illusion and one that Marina enjoyed as much as entering hyperspace.
The Mariner popped into normal space and almost instantaneous, her sub-light engines propelled her forward, as Marina now manually piloted her ship. The distance she had to transverse was only 27 million miles. But at sub-light speed of point .97, that maneuver was just under 2 minutes before they reached their next jump point coordinates.

The heavenly sphere that had started out the size of a marble just short of starboard increasingly inflated to a beach ball to then becoming a massive body below her. The Mariner turned upside down..or so it seemed, as it skimmed high orbit around the giant.
 

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