An End and New Beginning

[Ra'a'mah]

Since Ra left Coruscant as a crewman aboard a freighter, she's grown close to her captain. He took her in a dirty, almost street rat and shaped her up. He taught her how to pilot the craft, the routes through hyperspace and where good work could be found. He also showed her some of worst the galaxy had. They were on of those planets the night Ra's life changed.

Her boss, Treylon, was just wrapping up his end of a business bargain and had motioned for Ra to return to their ship. She had observed the transaction and her intuition told her something was about to go wrong. Maybe not with the client, but "something".

Ra grabbed up the parcels she had bought while they were there and started heading to the freighter. Her passage was safe and Treylon was just a few minutes behind her. She unlocked the ship and went inside, starting its systems and bringing it online. The footsteps of her captain were approaching when Ra perked up. The "something" was going to happen right now.

She ran down the ramp of the ship as the captain came around the corner. Ra opened her mouth to yell something when blaster fire broke out nearby. The fight wasn't theirs but her captain is not one to let an innocent get harmed, he turned to the commotion and ran in the direction of the blaster fight.

Ra dashed out of the hanger and around the corner, the direction her captain had gone. He wasn't in her line of sight, but she heard the sounds of a fight in front and to her left so she jogged in that direction. The scene before her eyes was one of massacre! A few well placed blaster bolts and a torch had set the dwellings on fire around where the fight was taking place. Cries of alarm and fright were coming from the buildings on fire, but it was too late for those within. Ra watched as the paper thin walls went up in blazes, taking the lives of those within.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a small form being shoved out a window of one of the burning houses. The fall wasn't great, but the form being pushed out was that of a child about four. Ra went over to the window the form was coming from the grabbed it as the child fell. The house started to collapse in front of her. She grabbed the child and ran away before either of them could get hurt.

The fight was still going on as the structures fell around them. Ra put the child down at a safe distance from the fires and fight, telling it, she couldn't place a gender on the child yet, to stay put. The form briefly looked at her and sat down calmly as if he or she had been through this before. She turned from the child to find her captain and saw him fighting the gunman. The original targets were dead nearby, nothing Ra could do for them. Ra quickly ascertained this and faced the attacker and her boss.

"Old man, you should never bring a knife to a blaster fight", the attacker pulled away from Treylon just slightly and was able to get a snap shot off to hit him in the leg. He went down like the buildings around them and at once Ra knew it was over for him. The attacker had not noticed her and she turned to run, grabbing the small form on her way out.

The child was light to carry and the ship not far. Knowing her captain was a dead man, Ra ran for the ship as fast she could with the child in her arms. Luckily she had already prepped the ship for take off and had needed no clearance to take up. Small, crappy worlds like this didn't require these things.

The child held onto Ra for its life as she ran and once they were aboard the freighter, calmly waited while Ra piloted it away from the planet. Ra had no idea what she was going to do with the child, but at least one person was saved this night. Her life having changed in the blink of an eye, Ra didn't even know where she was going. She punched in hyperspace coordinates and hit go. The YT-1300 took off into hyperspace, Ra sat back in the silence and started to cry.

The sounds of additional tears brought Ra out of stupor of sorrow and back to reality. There is a child on the ship that needs her help and attention. Her tears cleaned off her face, she approached the child. Ra knelt down in front of her...in the light of the freighter, Ra was able to tell the child is female.

"What's your name? I am Ra."

Ra said this pointing to herself and waiting for the child to answer.

"Xian."

It was all the girl said before she started crying again. Ra picked the girl up and carried her into one of bunk rooms and sat on the bed next to her, just holding the child until they both fell asleep. The sound of the hyperdrive alarm stating they had arrived at the random destination Ra had picked. She woke the girl up and brought the ship out of hyperspace.

"Well, here we are, wherever we are. Let's go."

Taking the small hand of Xian, Ra led the way off the ship and into a new future for them both. They left the space port, luckily Ra had not punched in so random a destination that she didn't know where they were. Coruscant, her home for so long stood in front of them.

Ra looked down at the child holding her hand and almost smiled, she knew exactly where to take this little orphan. She took her to the orphanage she had grown up in and arranged for the care and feeding of Xian until she reached adulthood. These guys would take care of Xian the best they could with what they had. After she dropped off the child and said her good byes to the people that raised her, Ra turned her back to the house and walked away.

She didn't know where she was going to go or whatever she was going to do for her future, but for now she was home and went to find food. Knowing many of the places she used to frequent, Ra picked her favorite and walked in. She found a table in a corner and sat down after ordering her food and drink. She watched as people passed the diner as well as the patrons and server droids inside. Never one to show much emotion, Ra felt her sorrow growing. On the bright side of things, she has a ship of her own and can come and go as she pleases.

(Anybody is welcome to join)

 

[Talmass Erillett]

Charles sat at the restaurant enjoying a good meal. Nerf steak with a side of vegetables and a glass of water was never bad. As he sat, he decided to practice his force "abilities". They really weren't much, but what they were did help from theme to time. He focused on all the people and minds in the diner. Mostly joy, little bit of depression, and some anger. But on every figure, in the booth behind his, she was cloaked in sorrow. As his mind wandered after the quick search of the room, he began to reminisce about old battles and allies. Fallen comrades and new ones. But that one woman, cloaked in sorrow, kept nagging at him from the back of his mind. After finishing his meal, Charles had had enough. He turned around.

"What's got you down?"[member="Maulkat"]

 

[Ra'a'mah]

Ra's food and drink arrived as the man in the booth in front of her finished and turned to ask what had her down. She paused in her attempt to start cutting into her food and looked at him. Placing her silverware down on her plate, Ra took a drink of her beer while thinking of an answer to him.

She had certainly noticed the man in front of her when she had been looking around the diner. About her age, maybe a couple years older, extreemly tall and lanky. He was also quite handsome. Ra looked up at him as she took her drink and placed the glass back on the table. Her eyes a light gold and slightly red around the edges due to her tears threatening to well up any moment.

"Life."

A single word to encompass the answer to his question. Ra wasn't sure if she could or even wanted to trust this man. He looked dependable, but looks could be deceiving as she had learned in her travels with her captain. At the thought of him, the tears she had been holding back burst out and her hard shell cracked.

*I should have more control than this.*

She thought this to herself as attempted to stifle the tears spilling down her face. Ra was trapped with no planned escape route. Through the haze of tears and sorrow, she just hoped this man wasn't planning on harming her.

 

[Talmass Erillett]

"Life." A good answer. There'd been times when Charles felt the same. Then, suddenly she let tears spill down her face. She curled up, attempting to stifle the tears, but failing. She just sobbed. Charles wanted to help, but could not think of how. Only three things came to mind, the first, having her join the Caroleans seemed remotely out of the question, but it was a fall back point. The second, was alcohol. That always seemed to help him. The third, and by far the most rediculous was to spill his life story, try to cheer her up by making him sad...........

He sat there for a moment, internally laughing at the absurdity of his ideas. Then Charles realized he had no where to be for a few days, and his ship was being borrowed.... he ordered two glasses of Myrian Red Wine, one for him, one for her. When the drinks came, he offered a glass to her. "This might help cheer you up. Don't worry, no drugs in it. The wine is very good. And strong." He took a sip of his. The red liquid rolled past his lips, filling his mouth with the flavor, and the alcohol, the moment he swallowed began to take effect....

 

[Ra'a'mah]

In a short period of time, Ra was able to regain control of her tears. Though a random siffle and hiccup still came up, by the time the wine Charles ordered showed up, Ra had control over the worst of her tears. Wiping her eyes one last time, she motioned for him to join her in her booth.

He handed her the glass of red wine he had ordered for him as he took a drink of his own. He assured her there were no drugs in the wine and that it was good wine. Even in her sorrow, Ra knew this man had no bad intentions for her. She took the glass of wine and a sip of it. It has a good fragrence and taste to go with it.

"I never knew this diner had wine this good. Thank you."

Setting the glass back down on the table, Ra finally got into eating her food. Between her bites, she made a few small comments about the quality food and just random thoughts that crossed her mind. Nothing important about herself. After a few bites, Ra paused to take another drink, looking across at the stranger in the booth.

"So sorry, my name is Ra."

She held her hand across the table to shake his. The question unvoiced as to his name.

 

[Talmass Erillett]

"I'm Charles." Charles said as he shook Ra's hand. Charles engaged in the conversation as to the quality of the food and other such things. From how shook up she was, someone either dumped her or died... and knowing this galaxy it was probably the latter. He asked her where she was from, and subtly slid inthe question of what skills she had.
[member="Maulkat"]

 

[Ra'a'mah]

Ra nodded her head when they shook hands after exchanging names. She went back into eating her food and Charles asked where she was from and a few carefully phrased questions about her skills.

The question of where she was from is confusing even to Ra since she doesn't actually know her birth planet, however she grew up here on Coruscant. So that's the answer she went with.

"I grew up here at an orphange. You?"

There was nothing too personal in the questions he's asked so Ra freely answered all of them, but asking for an answer after each one. Ra took a drink of the wine and a few more bites of her food. After finishing the wine, she put the glass down and displayed one of her best skills...that of languages.

Picking Selonian, Ra quickly said, "the weather is nice", with perfect inflection.

Picking up her beer, she tipped her glass slightly in Charles direction and took another drink. Ra went back to the last bites of her food and finished it quickly. Looking across the table at him, she asks, "is there anything else you want to know?"

The company of the man had taken away her thoughts of her now dead captain, at least for a time.

 

[Talmass Erillett]

Orphanage. Helps explain life as her answer for what had her so miserable.
"I grew on a military base, training every day." She then said something in selonian that Charles did not understand.
"Det är ganska trevligt." Charles responded in a dialect he had picked up in his years.
He didn't really want to learn more at the moment, so he just continued the conversation.
[member="Maulkat"]

 

[Ra'a'mah]

Military, that explains a little of his physical build, though very lanky, he had strength. Being military also told her he had great discipline. After Ra spoke in Selonian, Charles returned something in a language she had never heard before. Before she could ask what it was, the server droid came by and cleared the plates and glasses off the table. Still being a little hungry, Ra ordered them both one of the deserts this diner had on special. She watched as the droid trundled away and turned back to Charles.

"What brought you to Coruscant?"

She still has a little beer left and finished that while waiting for his answer and their desert.

 

[Talmass Erillett]

" relaxation, I guess. Needed a break from the front." This was not the entire truth, but it was a fair portion of it. The main reason he was here was already taken care of. "You?"

[member="Maulkat"]

 

[Ra'a'mah]

Where to begin, this is where Ra needed to decide if this man was worth the time to tell. She'd come this far, so why not? She relayed what happened to her the previous evening, the loss of her captain and rescue of the child. Again, tears threatened to come when she mentioned Treylon, but she held them back to continue her tale.

"I dropped the child off at the orphanage I grew up in and then came here."

Falling silent, the server droid brought the deserts and glasses of water for each of them when it returned.

Ra took a slow sip of the water, wondering what Charles is now thinking about her.

 

[Talmass Erillett]

Charles simply nodded solemnly. He understood what losing someone close felt like, it had happened to him far to much.bat

"Losing someone close is tough. I know your pain all to well. In my first real battle, I lost someone...... very near to my heart. We were defending a small village"--at this point he began to choke up a little--" my unit was decimated. She died, I nearly went with her. We lost the fight, suffering a 97.4% casualty rate. As I layed there, dying, I watched as the villagers were massacred, and when she attempted to end it..." Charles was now holding back tears. " there was nothing I could do. But you, you have a bright side. That child, you saved her, gave her a chance to help the galaxy, no matter how small, there may be times she'll wish she died there, but in the end, she will make someone's life better. In the end, I'm sure your captain died, knowing his regrets, but the people whose lives he made better surely outweighed his regrets and disappointments. That's how I coped. It's how I coped till I began to lose feeling, I stopped feeling the casualties the way I used to. Only, in place of depression and feelings of hopelessness are replaced by anger. The battlefield changed me. Be happy you don't have to experience that change, you can grieve the dead... I no longer can."

To stifle his tears, Charles took a bite out of the dessert... delicious... creamed... something, but it was good.

 

[Ra'a'mah]

As Charles spoke, Ra started eating her desert, listening to his own tale. He also knew the pain of loss and sorrow. To feel love is alien to Ra and her realtionship with her captain never came close to that. They were business partners, more like a master to an apprentice or a father to his child.

"What is it to lose somebody close to your heart?"

She might feel sorrow at the loss of Treylon, but they were never close like lovers. He was as close to a father that Ra ever remembered having.

"You loved this woman. That's not something I have ever known". Ra looked at her plate as she spoke this, not wanting to look at the obvious pain Charles was showing. She glanced up for a moment and saw he too was holding back his tear and doing his best to hide his own emotion. Her desert half done, she takes another bite and drink of water before continuing.

"Everybody in this galaxy knows pain and loss at some point in their lives. They either dwell in misery or move on. I intend to move past my own loss and look for my future. Whatever that may be..."

She leaves this unfinished as sitting in the small diner, Ra had no idea what her future is going to be.

 

[Talmass Erillett]

By now Charles was practically crying, so he let the tears free. He hated showing emotion around others, especially the Caroleans, but sometimes he needed to crack.

"Losing someone close to you is like being stabbed,and living to feeel every drop of blood drain from your body."
They both sat in silence for a moment, eating their food. Then ra piped up.
"Everybody in this galaxy knows pain and loss at somepoint in their lives. They either dwell in misery or move on. I intend to move past my own loss and look for my future. What ever that may be..."
Charles was quick to respond. "I could use a new transport. And occasionally I need a few soldiers smuggled, or supplies. We can pay well, and maybe teach you how to get good with a blaster.

 

[Ra'a'mah]

Giving Charles the time he needed to cry, Ra ate more her desert and her drink. He quickly let it out and when he was done, answered her question. The only reply she could think of is a slight nod of her head. He could tell, she had left her statement unfinished and when he mentioned work, her interest perked. Charles mentioned a "we" in his statement and the possibility of teaching her to use a blaster.

Ra has always been a quick learner and learning new ways to fight is always good.

"Who is this "we" you mention?"

She tilts her head slightly to the side when she asks, all trace of her inner pain hidden again behind the wall she always has up, only around her eyes can anybody be seen that she's been crying or feels anything.

 

[Talmass Erillett]

Charles wiped the last of his tears. He had to think of the Caroleans, and Carolus's grand dream. Now was not the time for emotion. Now was the time for recruitment. His eyes still stung, and his lungs heaved from the crying, but he spoke firmly and calmly.

"We, we are the Caroleans, an elite military order. I lead them. We've been doing mercenary work, but we have out standards for the work."

 

[Ra'a'mah]

"Such a young man leading?"

Ra found it hard to believe, but stranger things have happened.

"What standards do you have? I mean if you're elite like you say, I'm not sure somebody like me is eligible."

*Ok that came out all wrong, ugh.* She thought this to herself, but the words had already been said, there's no taking them back.

 

[Talmass Erillett]

"I'm a good tactician, plus having connections to the previous leader helped." Charles said, retorting her surprise at his lead.

"Have some self-confidence! Our standards are, a. They don't actively attack civilians, destroy their homes, food water, etc. we also don't allow orbital bombardment of everything and carpet bombing of residential areas. We fight not for corrupt governments, and lately we've been attempting to find Miss Blonde for what she did to one of the few force users amongst our ranks. We defend our own. If you still have self doubt, we'll train your skills further if we deem necessary. Though, you are most likely to be a pilot most of the time, transporting troops and supplies when needed, albeit that will involve flying into and out of a couple combat zones here and there. You up the task? Or do you want to go your own path? Please, don't feel pressured by me to join."

 

[Ra'a'mah]

Her ship was one of the farthest from a fighter or bomber than she could imagine so no carpet bombing or bombardment would come from her. Charles assures her neither he nor the Caroleans would feel bad if she didn't join their ranks. Ra sits in silence a moment, pushing the last of her desert around on her plate before answering.

"As you know, my life just changed big time last night. I don't feel it's time for me to make another one by comitting myself into something so big. However," she motions in his direction with her fork after taking the last bite of desert, "if you're willing to hire me as a transporter, smuggler or whatever, then I'm game."

She wanted to get a feel this group before jumping in and just working with them should give her an idea of what and who they are.​