Private Bittersweet Home, Emberlene

[Phalsi Drynchen]

FIND MY WAY
Equipment: Armored clothes-How they look, The Mask, Just in Case Cloak, Scope- kept on the utility belt until used, Wrist Device , Pair of Blue Lightsabers, Slicing/Gaming Tool, Hard Light Weapon, The Encoil, Zerek Stowaway Node, ICE/iBorg Clarion Personal Translator
Ship: Gray Messenger
Tags: Acaadi​

There was a time and place for everything. And it seemed as though the Silver's presence in her home system had returned not only a sense of peace, but also her ability to come home. She had been present once before, the Shadowrunners of Darkwire being tasked with chasing her down in lieu of the Mistryl Shadow Guard as a way of testing their promising allies. And her presence there had been a cruel trick at first. Her direction to the planet had drawn her to her parent's, and informed her of their belief in her death.

Something that had been perpetuated to keep her from having any ties to the planet following her exile.

The false information had been made more substantial with a forced name change, something that she had bitterly taken as part of her punishment without realizing that it would come back to her family as confirmation. Something that had torn at an already weak point in her heart. Her parents had been told upon her exile that she had died in transit to Kashyyyk, killed by marauders. And they had been dissuaded from contact by Mistryl the entire time.

A fact that had not escaped her notice in the return to her home.

The small apartment that had been provided to her held some amenities to aid in her presence here. A small medical station and bacta reserve tank for healing while the shower came with a sealable containment system to allow for whole body disinfection. All of which she had to figure out by messing with the control panels in her kitchen before investigating the effects of her messing with controls. But it had been a small bit of fun in the grueling month she had spent on Emberlene.

Her ship had glided to the surface, finding the designated parking platform for the Gray Messenger before disembarking and dealing with her Mistryl handler. The three prisoners had been handled already, but details along with proper protocol had to be observed before she was allowed to return to her apartment. She hadn't seen the group that had flown around the station, only being mildly aware of their presence as Aayla Shan had informed her once they had teamed up of more Silver's being present for the incident.

Several small cuts, a pair of long cuts, and more than a few large bruises were noted by her handler, a question of help being turned down as she bowed before ambling towards her apartment. She was highly noticeable through the small crowds moving around the spaceport, her vibrant green and black hair sticking out against the customary colors most had. Her outfit also made it difficult to blend, and most assumed she was with the Mistryl's while giving her a wider than typical birth.

Several gusty breaths were had as she popped her fingers, slowly walking and taking note of the gouges in her clothing before looking over her damaged cloak. She had a lot of mending to do, and more than enough wiring and patching to work through to make the cloak operational again. Putting it over her shoulder, she didn't spare a look behind her as she headed for the doors leading out of the planet side spaceport.

There was a datapad waiting on her table that she needed to look over, and choices to be made. Something she wasn't exactly thrilled to do so shortly after fighting for her home.

 

[Acaadi]

Acaadi was put of his jedi robes for the first time in days. After the mission over the shield generating platform in space, he had been joining several Silver and local units on the ground keeping the peace.

He hadn't once drawn his lightsabers. Wearing the robes of a jedi knight and having the sabers hanging from his belt had been more than enough to let the locals go about their duties unhindered. His duties could not have been further removed from Phalsi's, public and peaceful.

Right now he was dressed in overhauls, lingering beneath his twintail and carrying out the basic maintenance he had neglected. There had been no serious damage, which was a relief.

From his back the silhouette of Phalsi's ship was quite recognisable. She didn't land close enough to call out, in fact he lost line of sight completely. In a rush, he packed up his tools and tossed them into the cockpit.

Following the Force, he caught a glimpse of her through the crowd. A crowd he lost her in. The Force gave him enough of a nudge to get a rough bearing. Eventually, he ran out of direction.

"Or I could..." he muttered to himself, standing right outside her apartment. He dialled phalsi from his terminal, realising how obvious that should have been.

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

She had been in her own little world, not really paying attention and simply moving on autopilot. Making her way through the door and inside without running into anyone during that time. The Silver's were maintaining peace on the planet through the upheaval, and she was merely an observer for the time being. Her thoughts had wandered to what she should do about the wounds when her wrist device signaled a call, coming from someone who shouldn't have been able to contact her this far away.

Unless....

"-Ey, Acaadi. What's up? Everything alright?" She began speaking before the link even finished connecting. She wandered aimlessly while she spoke, a nervous habit that had never cured itself. She hadn't even got out of her mucked up clothing as she moved towards the door before pacing back to the kitchen.

 

[Acaadi]

"Hi," he went, immediately questioning everything he had committed to memory in the last ten minutes.

"So I'm on Emberlene and was at the space port and I thought I saw your ship. And you. But I might have just been mistaken. But I followed you but couldn't catch up and then lost you and then remembered I could call...."

A pause for a few moments.

"...sorry!"

He wasn't sure why he was explaining or apologising.

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

Her pacing came to a stop when he explained his situation. He was here. On Emberlene. And had seen her ship along with her. She blinked once. Then twice before holding the line out to look at in sheer disbelief. Words failed her as she stared open mouthed.

His apology kicked her mind back into functioning order as words finally connected from brain to mouth.

"No no no. That's-That's alright. I mean. Least you remembered that you could call. Just. Umm." She shuffled through the limited clothing that was in her makeshift dresser. "Where are you at? You said you lost me. Are you at the spaceport or in front of a building?"

 

[Acaadi]

"Yeah it did take me a while to remember that..." he laughed, hopeful that he didn't sound like a complete moron. It had been nice hanging out last time, but she had been distinctly absent since then.

It didn't sound as if she was was outside in a crowd any more. Though that could have just been the call filtering out the background noise.

"I am on...the corner of St Hallider and Nattock streets," he said, turning a circle on the spot. He was actually visible from her apartment window.

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

She had laugh of her own with his words before she began pacing again. She had been absent from Silver space and contact for almost two months now. It was bittersweet being allowed to come home having limited contact while she was training.

The smile dropped when he told her what street he was on. She half sprinted to the window outside and silently cursed herself. She'd have been dead if he had been anyone else. And her training would have been ramped up because of it.

She spied him from the window, silent for a long moment as she looked over her disheveled state. There was a mental shrug, realizing he was likely to be worried by her rather sorry state post fight.

"Head up the stairs on the apartment building in front of you and find 2F. Second floor, same corner as your're at right now. I'll see you in a moment."

She gave instructions as she stood in her window and waved at him. The room wasn't lit up at the moment, mostly revealing only her face that he could see before closing the blinds and fetching a few rags.

 

[Acaadi]

"Oh there you are," Acaadi laughed.

It made sense. The Force had stopped giving him direction being he was so close. Tracking people through the Force was hardly a speciality. It was just much easier with people he was close to.

Amusement turned to a flash of worry. It had been a long time since he had seen her. With all the trouble she had been in back home he had checked to see if she had been arrested anywhere. She was here in an apartment and allowed to fly, so things could not be that bad, he decided.

Despite having good spatial awareness he managed to forget how he was orientated as he took the stairs. Having headed to the opposite corner of the apartment block, he eventually made it there to knock on the door.

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

It took him a bit longer than expected to arrive at her door, something that had made her walk to the window before making her way to the door. Having opened it as he arrived to look out, there was an awkward moment of her face popping out as he moved to knock on the door. Her face reeled back in time to avoid a set of knuckles to her nose as she gave a strange smile and laugh to the incident.

Her clothes had been switched to something flowy, a far cry from the cut and ripped armored clothing she usually wore. Her hair was tied up in a lazy bun while the steristeel augment peeked around the back of her neck. It wasn't quite the same as her comfy clothes from Kashyyyk, but they seemed to do the job.

"Come on in. Need a snack or anything?" Her tone was easy, not hinting at the subtle unease that tinged her presence. The tails of tape and bandaging could be glimpsed as she strode towards the kitchen with a bit more speed than normal.

 

[Acaadi]

"Yeah, snack would be good," he replied because he was always hungry.

"I hadn't exactly meant to...you know...follow you home," he apologised as he stepped inside. Acaadi could pick up the atmosphere and honed in on what he assumed the problem was.

"Er, you can probably tell I was at my ship," he added, emcopassing his overalls vwith a wave of his hands.

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

"I'll get something then." She had noted what he'd grabbed last time, and had tried it herself. Luckily for him, she had liked it also and had it in shock.

She cast a glance over her shoulder, a knowing smile on her face. "I mean, if you saw me come in you'd have to have been at your ship. Just surprised to see you here. You are with the other silvers then I'd guess." She grabbed the bag, tossing it at home before moving to the table in the half kitchen.

"Its a good thing you came though. I actually wanted to talk. I'd have messaged you but I've been...limited." She hedged, not sure how he felt about the nature of the Silvers alliance with the Mistryls.

 

[Acaadi]

"Limited?" he asked. "Oh right, yes. You've been on an assignment then?"

That brought him a measure of relief. That meant she wanted to talk about the work she had been doing, of concerns about open comms had kept her from getting in contact.

Acaadi realised he was awkwardly lingering a few steps away. He hadn't been invited to sit anywhere so was just hovering.

For all the calm and serenity and confidence the Jedi training was supposed to bring, he could still feel very awkward in his own skin.

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

Before she answered his question, she stared at him as he stood. There was the question in her mind if he was really going to stand there the entire time or if he was going to sit down. And without asking guessed the answer.

"Sit down, I don't want to pull the bag out of your hand to snack." She joked while giving a light tug on said bag he had with the force.

"And yeah. You've heard of the Mistryl group, right?"

 

[Acaadi]

Acaadi made an expression somewhere between a grimace and a grin. He moved to sit down. Then, remembering he was wearing stained overalls, he unzipped them and shrugged out of them.

"They're a group of all female mercs. Get up to shady work if the price is high enough."

Acaadi left them in a heap in the hall. He was wearing a plain white tee and jogging trousers underneath.

He sat down, leaving the bag of snacks between them.

"Didn't want to get grease on your stuff," he explained, even though there was no need to.

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

She nodded, though her eyes lingered for a long look as he took off the coveralls. Her brow lifted slightly when he finished speaking, a grin growing.

"That's the basics of it yes." She offered, hand snaking into the snack bag and pulling out a treat for herself before tossing it at him playfully.

"Appreciated."

She was silent for a brief second, unnoticeable save for the shift from playful to serious.

"They've recruited me. And expunged my record as part of the deal. I wanted you to hear it from me. Not from a news article or a bounty like last time. I'm not a criminal anymore and can come here freely." She explained, her pointer finger tracing circles on the table between them. The nervous energy around her had been a sliver before this moment as it suddenly became a consuming force.

"I don't want this to be a wedge. And I'm still going to be around. And I'll still message and hang out and that stuff. I still want that. All of it. I just-" The words were quick, worried and trying to assure him. Or maybe assure herself. She wasn't entirely sure through the strain she felt now trying to keep hold of someone she cared about.

"I'm sorry. I don't. I...ugh." She scratched her forehead in frustration as words failed her.

 

[Acaadi]

"Oi!" he laughed, already being attacked by snacks. It was better than grease down the neck, he supposed.

Her revelation surprised him. It shouldn't have, given the way she asked her question. Acaadi hadn;t stopped to think about why she had asked if he knew of them.

Acaadi frowned.

"Well...it won't be a wedge. Alright?" he said, seeing her discomfort.

"Did they coerce you into this because of the record?" he asked, a flash of annoyance on his face. Then, in a rare moment of clarity he said: "You probably needed someone to just...listen these last months."

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

"It won't be. No. I just. I didn't know how you felt about them. Or really anyone. For that matter." She further explained. There was a relief as she relaxed, a shrug given to his question of coercion.

"Sort of. It isn't all that bad of a deal. But they definitely had the stronger hand in the deal." She hedged. It hadn't been a terrible deal. They could have approached her better, but they were getting two birds with one stone.

He was offering to listen, and her smile was caught between relief and simple bliss.

"Don't have to listen. The company is nice though. I missed you. Being around I mean. This isn't Kashyyyk by any means so thats a given I suppose. But I get to come home finally. Without having to look over my shoulder." She grabbed another snack and actually ate it this time.

 

[Acaadi]

"That must be nice," he said. He'd seen how much it pained her to be caught in that situation.

For a moment he'd felt as if he was being dismissed for his suggestion. He realised that wasn't the case. Phalsi was just trying to convey that she didn't need him as counsellor right now, she just wanted to hang out again.

"Was a little worried you might have done a runner," he admitted. More than a little, but he wasn't exactly going to put that to words just yet. Cuddling up and watching a show had been nice. He'd always assumed that Phalsi was too cool to spend much time around him, but after that he'd been wandering how interested in him she was.

"How long do you have to work for them?" he asked.

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

"It's a nice change anyway. There's some other things to work through. But time can wear down stone." She cut off that avenue of thought before it dragged her mood down further.

Her parents was an issue for another day. Her hand waved dismissing the thought of doing a run again.

"Don't need to do that for any illegal reasons now. And I would have told you if I'd have done that. Might even tried convincing you to come along." She laughed but gave him a sharp look.

"As for the 'contract'-" Air quoting the word as she leaned back in her seat and winced at moving her arm before pressing on. "Indefinite. I can end my contract by appealing to the leadership. Other members have quit before, but they made mine more appealing than most because I'm a force user. Not a common thing on Emeberlene truth be told."

Her left hand came up to run her right shoulder. A lingering pain still there as she tilted her head and looked at him before dropping her hands into her lap. The nerves were back as she circled back to another topic.

"Would you have? Come with me I mean. If I'd asked?"

 

[Acaadi]

He was glad that she seemed relatively relaxed about the entire thing. It didn't occur to him that working for this slightly shadowy organisation might have been an improvement in her day to day life.

"I suppose there's more to do around here than Kashyyyk too," he mused. He glanced around the room, trying to avoid letting his gaze linger on bare legs. An indefinite contract sounded a little troublesome. They had taken their bargaining position and now had a hold on Phalsi. He didn't like it, but if she was comfortable with the arrangement then he supposed he could live with it.

"Would you have? Come with me I mean. If I'd asked?"

"You're hurt," he observed, but his concern was waylaid by the question. Not just what she asked, but the expression she wore as she asked it. This mattered to her. Probably much more than a bit of sympathy for a healing shoulder.

"Yes," he replied after giving it some thought. "I'm not saying like, I'd have run away forever but..."

His frown deepened as he tried to turn errant thoughts and feelings into words. "...I'd have made sure you were safe."