Blood in the Water [CIS Dominion of Bestine IV]

[Helly Reyne]

Location: Secluded Cove
Objective: Live it up
Tags: [member="Valencia Hadley"]


Helly was almost entirely left bewildered by why Valencia was startled by her presence, never one to consider her own behavior as unusual. She knew it was, but she never understood why people were put off by it. Maybe it had something to do with only having most of her organic brain remaining.

"Ah, you don't need to worry about that Mandalorian," she said as she smoothly pulled herself from the water and onto the dry sand that was soon to be wet from her dripping. She leaned back with her palms supporting her back as she sighed, both out of relaxation and the memories of Cynthia. "She's a, uh... good friend. And by that I mean she's an ex... Or maybe we never broke up, I dunno, chit gets complicated when some of the most powerful galactic factions get involved. The Mandalorian Empire, though... I could probably do with better taste."

The empires had a propensity for making Helly's life more difficult, and they did their job all too well. Every last one of them, from the Sith to the Mandalorian, posed a threat to the galaxy at large. She would do anything- anything to put a stop to their destructive tyranny, but she had to settle for a future where, at the very least, Cynthia would see her own empire for what it was.

"Hey, does this count as a coming out moment?" Helly asked, turning to face the side of Valencia before turning back to the pool in front of them. "I'm gonna go ahead and count it as a coming out moment..."

 

[Anastasia Verd]

The beach is nice, isn't it? Anastasia thought to herself as her bare feet touched against the sand. She'd been on the beach before, hadn't she? What was before and what transpired after her freedom had been given to her seemed so jumbled up still, even months later. No one knew who Anastasia Vi'dreya was, just as she did not. She was a mystery even to her own self, trying to understand herself and trying to be a big girl. She wasn't a child even though she had never been a child. She was not an adult yet either because she had so much to learn still. Somewhere in between, big brown eyes watched the galaxy with wonder and curiosity, trying to comprehend it. Rushing towards it.

She blinked as she watched the people around her as her vision blurred. She could suddenly see smoke spreading from the individuals, taking shapes of tentacles and strings as they spread out, meeting together. Throughout her body, she felt a long deep snake-like shiver, all throughout her spine. At the moment, Anastasia had shuddered before blinking. "Please stop," a small still voice pleaded outward quietly. Once her eyelids rose, she felt centered again and in the now. What she was seeing, she no longer was. There were just beings, the beach, the sand. This had been happening lately. The young Apprentice couldn't fully grasp what it was that she was seeing and it happened for no more than a second when it did and yet it felt more real than anyone she saw in front of her. Something was happening to her and she couldn't explain it yet.

It was a weakness, wasn't it? Seeing things seemed like a weakness even if she didn't understand it yet. She was the daughter of Darth Metus, she was Draclau. Sometimes, when Ana thought about those things, even if she hadn't fully grasped them yet, she felt herself getting sick. She'd spent what little life she had behind her a prisoner of her own mind, a captive of a monster. She had been weak from the moment she came into this world, her body possessed by the dead. She was too weak to fight her. It was another monster, a spirit of the Mandragora who helped her break free. Not her. She hadn't been strong enough to rid herself of Naha'va. She was a weakling. Unworthy of the name she had been given, unworthy of calling herself Darth Metus daughter. Unworthy of the lightsaber she carried at her waist always, a lightsaber Father had given her long ago. Not her though because she was weak. He gave it to Naha'va as she controlled her body still. Because she was too weak.

And there it was again, that feeling of getting sick taking over her once more. You're too weak, Anastasia. You'll never make him proud of you. She thought to herself at that moment, need to close her eyes, head rising higher as she inhaled and exhaled the planet's air, trying to ground herself. Instead, she saw eyes in the darkness. Brown eyes turning yellow and red, then burning red before she heard as growl deep inside her. For a second, Ana thought it was Doashim. It wasn't. It was enough for her to scare her into not feeling sick, enough to remind her where she was, to come into the now. Eyes opened as her feet began to take her forward. She had a long way to go still. Light years to go before I sleep, she thought to herself as she walked out.

 

[Keva]

There weren’t many beaches in Chiss space.

[SIZE=11pt]Well, so she assumed. Keva was no master of geography, all her training was the military and officer training crammed into her during that incredibly short childhood, if she needed to learn about a planet she could just get briefed before landing[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Didn’t Copero have a beach?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]She couldn’t remember. It had been too long since she had been to that world, merely a child before the CEDF took over so much of her life. And so Bestine IV was an utterly fascinating planet to her: a world as blue as her skin, with beaches and ocean as far as her eyes could see: truly fascinating.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]It was funny though, such a grown woman being so naive of something so basic as a beach resort. But it didn’t bother Keva much, she was more interested in watching the waves right now. Sitting herself down on a rock, clad in “casual” clothing: which was little more than a messy officer uniform: she needed something for these gatherings. First of the lessons it seemed.[/SIZE]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

Objective: Murder In Paradise
Location: Bestine Hotel, Main Lobby
Tags: [member="Alwine Lechner"] [member="Kiff Brayde"]

Lucien did not say anything else until another man arrived, speaking plainly about the situation. The Illyrian said nothing, yet he did cross his arms over his chest as he arched a brow at the man. "Vibroweapon? Is there any ways to track-" Before he could finish the woman he'd been working with decided to lead the group out of the lobby. He glanced over to the newcomer before exhaling and shrugging softly. He didn't care to argue, instead followed the woma's lead as she made her way through the crowd and finally to the stairwell. Once they got to the murder scene, Lucien whistled softly. "Someone had fun..." He muttered before sighing at the pool of blood that had been splayed over the ground. "Damn..." He said softly.

When Alwine moved to close the door, Lucien arched his brow curiously. "Are you able to track the blood by following it's...it's....What are you doing?" He asked as she began to unrobe before the two men.

As she stood naked before the man all he could do was look at her. Why would he bother looking away? He appreciated the woman's body up until the point where it began to....change. As her body seemingly broke itself down, reconstructing it in some odd manner Lucien stepped back from the alien. "Ok....that was badass." He said, pointing towards the woman who has now turned into a wolf. He looked to the other man before arching a brow. "You ever see something like that before?" He asked.

 

[Valencia Hadley]

​

Objective: Breathe
Location: Secluded Cove, Bestine IV
Tag: [member=Helly Reyne"]


Valencia kept that pleasant smile firmly in place as the young woman emerged from the water, dripping wet, to take a seat on the warm sand beside her. She gently leaned forward to place her elbows against her knees and turned her head to watch as Helly spoke. She picked up an air of almost whimsy when she spoke of the Mandalorian woman she'd seen on Eshan - though it became clear why when she spoke of the relationship they'd had. Well, that explained why the women had been so heated without coming to blows.

As Helly mentioned that this was a 'coming out moment' Valencia couldn't help the much more genuine smile that curled at the edges of her lips. She turned to glance at the water once more as she chuckled softly, lifting her hands to gently cradle the underside of her chin. Her eyes were a little distant as she spoke, focused on the surface of the crystal-clear blue waters that rippled softly in the summer breeze.

"I'm glad that you feel comfortable enough with me to have told me if it is such a moment, Ms. Reyne." She leaned her head to the side in her palms, her pale blue eyes regarding the woman curiously as several strands of her blonde hair spilled from behind her back to blow in wind. Helly was young, and from what she'd heard of the woman, reasonably famous in many circles - which could lead to her running into a good number of different people, likely from all walks of life.

"We can't help who we love... And in my wealth of experience, even less can we control who we lust after." The same cloy smile tugged at her lips at the last bit, offering the girl a wink before she situated herself to stare back at the water. It didn't take more than a moment for that smile to fade though, her mind drifting as it now often did to places far less warm and comfortable than the beach they currently occupied. She worried sometimes that there wouldn't come a day where she didn't find herself thinking on what she'd seen.

"I'm sorry," she said after several long moments, her voice quiet, "I'm afraid I'm not very good company these last few days."

 

[Derek Dib]

Location: beach
Objective: chill
Interacting: [member="Iapo Sim"]

The sound of crashing waves filled his ears. The irregular tempo of nature lapping at the beach was soothing. His eyes opened as he glanced at the woman nearby. Her audible hiss of pain echoed subtly in the Force. He one her not, but she was most likely a Confederate. And odds were her wound was received in the recent military action on Eshan. Eyes closed again as the fingers on his right hand flexed in sympathy.

Not his right hand.

Somewhere in the ruins of Eshan City his right arm lay in rotting repose. Severed at the shoulder, the cybernetic replacement was not his own. Several surgeries, skin grafts, and a bacta dunk erased any external sign of his new arm. Flesh unmarred. But though he was technically whole once more, mentally he carried the scars.

His body bathed in the heat. As a Dib no scorching sun nor freezing tundra could cause him discomfort. The warmth caressed his skin filling him with vigor. Yet his mind was ever wandering, his inner eye viewing events of the past month and the losses he had personally sustained. The price to liberate Eshan and the echani was high, and they had paid it with blood and tears.

A high price indeed.

The sound of shifting sand prompted him to open his eyes once more. The woman had say up and inquired if he had brought anything to drink. Sitting up, his left hand swept across the sand next to him revealing a cooler lid. Popping it open he nodded at it in invitation.

"Some water and a few beers. Feel free to choose either. The name is Derek. Enjoying your getaway?"

(OOC: sorry for the delay)

 

[Allya Vi'Dreya]

Allya gave [member="Jayce Pryde"] a charmed smile, and pushed her thumb back to the beach. "Hey man. All the hot ladies are back that way.” She snickered and leaned into her seat. As the girl drank, she relaxed. Oh in most cultures she was far too young to drink. But very few people ever questioned it, and she liked that. Her fingers tapped rhythmically on the rod. “See, if I take all the fish, it just means you ain't any good at it.”

She pulled back on the rod, and hooked yet another fish. Once more the battle played out, and she emerged victorious. It was larger than the last one by a decent amount. But a different type too, this one had brown scales, rather than gray. She put it in the storage tank, and hummed softly to herself. The teen rebaited the hook, and cast out again. Oh she would have fun when she roasted these guys later.
“Name is Allya, and yours?” Honestly, fishing went better when you had someone to talk to. It was nice and relaxed when on your own, but, meh, kriff it, why not at least be civil?

 

[Malok]

Location: Secluded Cove, Bestine IV​

Tag:[member="Valencia Hadley"], [member="Helly Reyne"]​

It was just what the Doctor ordered.

Metaphorically speaking of course. In terms of reality, the physicians which poured over the Vicelord following Eshan had demanded that he well and truly rest. Some demanded daily bacta baths until the internal damage was fully rectified. Others demanded bed rest. One suggested breaching the cloying light of Monastery for a bonafide healing. However, the Sith Lord was a stubborn creature. As opposed to taking the medical professionals' advice as law, he set about joining his compatriots in taking a breath of fresh air. It was not the same as bed rest, healing, or bacta baths...but after fighting his former people on Eshan, Darth Metus truly needed a moment to breathe. They all did.

It was no secret that, for the most part, his attention had been dominated by the restoration of the Echani homeworld. To the point where he was not able to place his attention on matters that were a touch more...personal. When it came to the political sphere, both Darth Metus and Valencia were professionals first. As the drums of war began to beat everything...paused. Their meetings became actually productive - and when the fighting began, the Sith was not able to see to her wellbeing until well after victory was won. But, now that there was an opportunity to begin things anew, the Sith descended from the resort itself and set off down the beach. A few well placed questions saw the man pointed in the right general direction.

And in time he came to realize that she was not enjoying the secluded cove alone. Rather, she had company in the form of [member="Helly Reyne"] - someone he did not yet know personally. Unlike most occasions, the Sith was not wearing a crisp suit or a suit of armor for that matter. But rather, a light t-shirt with shorts whilst being completely barefoot. He was playing the part of standard tourist right down to a T (complete with a pair of sunglasses obscuring his eyes). But, the moment he saw Valencia, his face brightened like the noonday sun. He waved, a touch enthusiastically, to them both as he drew closer.

"Mind if I join you?"

 

[Iapo Sim]

Location: Sandy beach
Objective: have a break, explore, love sand.
Attire: Tank top and cut-off cargo pants.
Tag: @Derek Dib

The man's response was almost surprisingly amiable. Iapo had expected otherwise, something about his dark features and his grim expression. He too may be coming back from Eshan, Iapo guessed, and that carking battle was reason enough to sour anyone's mood Iapo reasoned.
She smiled when she saw the cooler. Evidently, some people came better prepared than her. When the man offered her a beer she hummed happily. Oh, this was shaping up to be a great afternoon. The slight hiss when she opened the cap made her smile. From all the things she'd discovered leaving her small little corner of the galaxy, good alcohol may be around the top three of her favorites.

The first few sips were perfect, the beer was cold and light and she guessed that she must have been slightly dehydrated.
"Thanks". She leaned back on her forearms.
"My name is Iapo, and yeah this is perfect. It's the first time I've seen an ocean like this" she made a vague motion with her hand, hoping to encompass both the beautiful scenery and the laughs and smiles from the people.
"Honestly, I think we all needed that", she grimaced, thinking back to the battle, the agonizing moments, waiting for rescue with her dying commander in her arms, the aftermath... The least she could say was that her first few deployments had been anything but routine.

Relatively new to the Confederacy as she was, she had little to compare it against, of course, but she guessed that a battle of Eshan was not usual even for the hardened warriors that made up the bulk of the Confederacy forces. There was a certain shellshocked air that had subsisted after the battle and she was happy to escape the often somber atmosphere in the headquarters.

She took another sip and hummed appreciatively. This was a lot better: blue sky, warm sand, transparent waters, and good beer.

 

[Anastasia Verd]

Location: Beach, Bestine IV
Wearing: Wearing
Tag: Open​

He's here.​

It had popped in, the singular thought like a snake wrapping itself around her abdomen. Its touch burned and probed against her exposed skin. She looked down, seeing the same patterns around her as they began to tighten around her. Naha'va once sought out power like another inhaled air. Anastasia could never do the same, not the way the monster had done it when she controlled her. Now, it came to her as fog, like flashes of lighting, like a demonic snake wrapping tightly around her as the tentacles of smoke spread out from her fingertips seeking out the powerful presence she knew.

He is here.​

The thought was simple yet it made the tentacles of smoke tighten even harder, making her palms press into her stomach. She knew who he was, she knew whose presence she could feel. Even when she had been captive of her own body, when she had been a whimpering thought of her own mind, when the monster held control over her, Anastasia could always feel that man nearby. He was her creator, her Father. His darkness was striking. Capable of such destruction and yet loving in his own way despite it. Yet, not even he could see the truth in the dark eyes of his own daughter. He couldn't see the monster that held her captive, he couldn't see Ana was not Ana. If he couldn't see, no one could see. That was what she was. A bleep, a fleeting thought. "I am nothing," Ana muttered as she walked towards the beach. Inside her, a storm was brewing, building, growing. It was coming alive as she tried to understand herself, as she tried to see the world around her. Instead of seeing the beauty though, she saw the darkness. She saw the smoke and the threads of the night. She couldn't see the brightness, she saw the dark.

Consumed by her own disappointment, Ana didn't notice as the sand around her danced, as it rose at the side of her feet, rising and falling, spinning and collapsing. Her emotions fueled her power, they manipulated the particles beneath her feet. Not for she had any power over the ground but because her thoughts were rampant, causing their movement, their dance. Around her, the sands were lifting, as the Force trailed after her.

I am nothing, the thought continued to linger inside her. It saddened her and angered her, engulfed her into hatred towards herself, towards the world, towards the monster that had kept her at bay. All the way she didn't see there was a monster behind her beautiful facade. Behind the girl, lay a demon. A demon that had set her free, that had danced against her very soul. Though her eyes were opening to the structures of the Force around her, she couldn't begin to see the power raging from deep inside her.

 

[Haastal Haran]

​

Location: Bestine Beaches
Objective: Not anything too specific
Tags: [member="Keva"]

Why the hell did Achilles come to this planet? He'd been in between contracts for the past few days and had pretty much spent most of his time blowing what cash he'd made from his last venture out with The Golden Company. He had every intention of returning to their services, but there was no way in hell he was just gonna hang around in between their missions. The Thyrsians were ok but they were still a bit too stuffy for his taste.

Achilles had been walking along the beach, whistling a little tune as he figured what he was going to do for the night. He could easily find some little cantina to slip into, get drunk, and crawl back into the back of his starship. The only thing was he'd done that the last three nights and it was starting to reek of repitition. Maybe he could find somewhere to get a bite? His stomach let off a bit of a grumble to show it's support to the plan, still he wasn't convinced. The brown skinned man had not been wearing a shirt or shoes, instead all he wore was a pair of gym shorts with a holster wrapped over his waist. His head had a fedora-like hat on it but other than that he was basically without any clothing. His chest was a mess of old and new scars that rang of the many contracts he'd been on.

The mercenaries right arm was equally apalling as it was covered in scars as well. The only difference was these scars were in an undeniable pattern. These vertical lines covered his forearm and threatened to crawl up to his shoulder. They seemed to be tally marks by the occassional diagonal line through them.

His left hand had a speaker, that boomed out loudly playing some song that the man sang along to. He walked the beach for a few minutes before the blue-skinned woman came into view. She had the look of a soldier about her. Though...it was actually way too obvious by the uniform she wore. He glanced over to the evening sun that beamed down onto them. As he approached her, he called out with a thick outer rim accent. "Yo, you know the beach is more a place for a bikini or something like that? You're supposed to have some skin out here, boot." He told her, tossing the speaker down into the sand while his hand dug into his pocket, producing a pack of cigarras.

"What's up?" He asked, biting the butt to one of them before holding the pack out to the woman. "Want one?" He offered, lighting his own cigarra and taking a drag from the small cylinder. The hell was a Chiss soldier doing out here?

 

[Haastal Haran]

Duplicate {Ignore}​

 

[Helly Reyne]

Location: Secluded Cove
Objective: Live
Tags: [member="Valencia Hadley"] | [member="Darth Metus"]


Helly gained a wide smile as she snickered at what Valencia said about love and lust. "You'd think it would be that way, wouldn't you? Love being something that's cultivated over time and lust being this compulsive temptation that can hit us at any moment if our brains catch a whiff of something attractive. I've got a pretty good method of getting around that, though; I imagine that person is an Imperial or someone fighting against droid rights. Suddenly, I no longer find myself attracted to them, and sometimes I even confuse them by giving them the stink eye. Love, though..."

Her hand began tracing shapes into the sand beside her, her tone shifting to be more muted and subtle. "I'm always in love with someone I shouldn't be in love with. It's rarely good for me, rarely good for them, and it's always the one I can't be with." She clenched her fingers around the sketch of an eye she had made in the sand, exhaling through her nose as she stared at her own fist full of sand. "I don't know if I'm in love with Cynthia. One moment it feels like I must be, next moment I don't feel much of anything. Maybe it's just lust, or maybe I *want* myself to love her..."

Nothing had been said between the two of them for some time after she was done giving the speech she would provide a shrink until Valencia spoke up. Seeing the sobered face of the woman who sat beside her, the same woman who had been there with her on Eshan, she took a deep breath and just barely nodded, knowing all too well what weighed on both of their minds at that time. They could be called "brave" and "heroic" a million times by those thankful for the Confederacy and their humanitarian aid, but it didn't make what happened any less troubling. Anything she could have said at that moment she had said before ten times over about Coruscant in the past. Words couldn't accomplish all that much, not when there were no words for what they had borne witness to. Instead, she opened her arms on either side of Valencia, embracing her and resting her face on her shoulder, quiet sobbing quick to follow. She could have pretended to be strong for her and not cry, but they both knew it would just be an act.

Someone's voice, certainly not Valencia's, came from somewhere behind her, and when she turned to see who it was, she almost didn't trust her own eyes. She had seen the Vicelord before, certainly, but not like this. Never so directly and informally. He was wearing shorts... It was almost impressive.

 

[Keva]

​

Location: Beaches
Objective: Talk
Tags: [member="Achilles"]

[SIZE=11pt]After a short while and another shake Keva came to a conclusion about these “Breaches” as she think the people called it in basic, the this sand thing was very unpleasant. It felt coarse, and irritated her skin, and it seemed to get into every crevice imaginable. Even on her little rocky paradise.the sand had come to harass her: the heat was less than pleasant as well, far too much for the poor Chiss. Of course, her attire wasn’t exactly helping that fact.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]She caught sight of the poorly clad man, though paid him little mind. Far too engrossed into just studying this bizarre terrain, thinking how she could mount an assault...military whatnots and a furthering of that seeming obsession with the Confederacy’s army.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]When Achilles called out to her, she jumped, torn out from her little fantasy of legions and armies and turned to face him. Taking a bit of time to merely process what he had said to hear, trying to get it out through the accent.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“A what?”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]What in the hell was a “Bookicky” or whatever he had said. She should’ve paid more attention with basic…[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Though she took note on his rather abhorrent taste in music. Not letting herself flinch at that form of torture though, the anxiety of actually trying to speak was enough: ironic, a woman who had fought Vagaari raiders a dozen times, and served in CEDF for years was more frightened by speaking basic. With the scars to prove both across her face.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]“What is it?”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]She remembered seeing something similar once, but could never be too sure.[/SIZE]

 

[Kiff Brayde]

OBJECTIVE: MURDER IN PARADISE: Eliminate any hostile forces on the Island
LOCATION: Bestine Hotel, Lobby
ALLIES: [member="Voph"] [member="Lucien Rayne"] [member="Alwine Lechner"]

"No, unfortunately I haven't seen an officer murdered in cold blood like this. Whoever did it must really hate the Confederacy to go to the extra lengths to make a mess like this." Although the reply was light in nature, Kiff was being serious, at least in his own way; humor was for him a coping mechanism, and when things took a wrong turn he tended to make light jokes and quips at the expense of those who saw it as immature. He had been reprimanded by his academy commandant one too many times for his mischievous nature, but consequences didn't seem to have taught the young Marshal anything. Nevertheless, Kiff was fully grounded and he studied the bloody remains of what had been a Confederate officer, now a mangled mess that had utterly ruined the room and was beginning to stain his boots. The tunic of the officer's uniform had been ripped open, the extreme violence definitely indicating some sort of vibroweapon. The cloth was stained with the crusty browned residue of dried blood, although more was oozing out of the wound. In the nature of decency a cloth had been laid over the man's head to obscure his face, but the fact that most of his chest had been ripped open and his guts pulverized indicated that his death had not been a painless one. The real problem was that whoever did this was still at large, and if Kiff and his allies didn't act fast, more vacationers would get hurt. Right now everyone on Bestine was in danger, and Kiff would have to get on the move if he didn't want more deaths.

 

[Jayce Pryde]

[member="Allya Vi'Dreya"]

Yeah yeah the lovely ladies may be back on the beach..... But the beer and the fish are out here Came his deep southern drawl as he responded to the young lady as she poked fun at him.

He took another drink of his beer before pulling what seemed to be a hand rolled cigar from out of his pocket. It was then placed between his lips and lit. He took a massive inhale and gave a small cough before holding it out to her as he exhaled a thick cloud of the dank smelling smoke..... I hear you there Captain Ahab.... You wanna hit this while your not catching all the fish? Oh and I'm Jayce..... Its nice to meet you Allya

 

[Derek Dib]

Location: beach
Objective: chill
Interacting: [member="Iapo Sim"]

He nodded amicably when the newly introduced Iapo thanked him for the refreshment. So as not to appear offended by her inquiry as well as to take part in the miniscule revelry of the moment, he reached into the cooler and appropriated one of the bottles that rested beneath the surface of ice. Popping the cap he tilted the glass bottle and drained half of the emerald ale before lowering it once more.

His eyes had caught the wince as she finished speaking. He believed he could identify as most of the injuries and haunted looks of late was directly because of the battlefront on Eshan, a fight that he had kept his people out of by choosing to offer relief and escape to the echani. Of course his two guards and he had been pulled into the fray upon their landing.

The decision to engage with hostiles was one that had cost his friends their lives. It would haunt him.

Shaking his head slightly in an external effort to remove his line of thinking, he turned his body toward the woman. She was cute, firm musculature, with an outgoing personality. She'd do fine in the CIS. Allowing his lips to curl into a semblance of a smile he nodded to the ocean.

"The world of my birth had oceans. Different atmosphere which required a rebreather, but still the oceans were beautiful. I don't usually slow myself to let my proverbial hair down often, so this is a pleasant change. So what finds you here then?"

He left the question open ended to allow her to share what she wanted. Or she could go into detail. He well understood the desire for privacy, and wouldn't pry if the conversation stayed in shallow, safe, waters.

 

[Valencia Hadley]

​

Objective: Breathe
Location: Secluded Cove, Bestine IV
Tag: [member="Helly Reyne"] | [member="Darth Metus"]

The long moments of silence that followed her revelation about her reason for being such poor company dragged on for what felt like an eternity. She could feel [member="Helly Reyne"] watching her, but still, the silence stretched on. In those long moments, she felt her mind slipping back to Eshan, back to that medical camp where they'd met, and back to the image of that SD breaching the clouds. The sky had been calm for hours, only to be filled with flame and war, and the imminent death of so many innocents... She remembered the shudder as the impact came, the moments that followed where everything seemed to happen all at once and yet in such perfect slowness that she had time to contemplate the cost in lives. There'd been no time... No time.

She was startled back to that beach as Helly's arms encircled her shoulders and the young woman's face pressed to her shoulder. Valencia blinked once before she felt her own eyes begin to sting, the sound of the soft, shuddering sobs against her shoulder unlocking a door she'd closed firmly that day. Her chest was immediately tight as she leaned her head over a touch to rest atop Helly's, doing her best not to succumb to the same degree of tears, but able to feel them hot on her cheeks none of the less. Her hands moved to gently hug the arm that had wrapped around the front of her as she tucked her legs in once more, closing her eyes and trying not to let the yawning chasm she could feel starting to form in her stomach eat her whole.

In those stretching moments, she struggled - but the voice that came to the huddled pair as [member="Darth Metus"] crested the small berm of rocks startled her back to herself almost instantly. Pale blue eyes shot up, meeting sunglass-clad sulfuric eyes as she felt that chasm lessen. She gave Helly's arm one last squeeze before she tugged the sleeves of her flowing shirt over the heels of her palms and used them to discretely wipe her eyes clean. She shrugged her shoulder a touch to offer that same fabric to the young woman, should she chose to use it - though it was a blessing that Helly was still damp from being in the water, so it wouldn't be quite as apparent as the perfectly dry Viceroy she'd chosen to sit with.

She turned her face back to face the approaching Vicelord as she uncurled her legs a bit and sunk her toes back into the warm sand, offering him a slightly closed off grin, "Of course, Vicelord. Please - we were just catching up." The attired that Metus had chosen didn't seem to surprise Valencia quite so much as it had Helly, instead she was just a little shocked that he'd found them at all.

 

[Haastal Haran]

​

[member="Keva"]​

​

The woman not knowing what a bikini was caused Achilles to tsk, softly. "Man, they need to let you boots out more. A Bikini's clothes made for the beach. You don't come to the beach in a uniform, boot." He said, in a joking tone but still trying to get the woman to understand. Was anyone really this dense? Though she was a chiss and their militance was way past what Achilles was used to as a simple merc.

When he offered the cigarra the woman didn't know what that was either? Damn. "Hey, did you live under a rock or something?" He asked, taking a deep drag from his cigarra before exhaling out a thick cloud into the air above him. He bent down to pick up his speaker, pausing the song so he wouldn't waste the battery on the cheap device. This woman definitely had his attention. "You can't be from around here. People here don't know what a hard day's work looks like, and damn sure don't know a blaster from an apple. You military, you here with the feds?" He asked, settling his cigarra in the edge of his lips.

"Name's Achilles. I do a bit of freelance work with The Confederacy from time to time. Usually when business is slow, these motherkarkers don't pay chit!" He said, with a chuckle before flicking the ashes from his cigarra into the sands below. "I mean, Golden Company doesn't pay all that much either, but they have some sweet ass perks, you know? I wanna get in good with them, but they be wantin' a brother to go ALL over the galaxy and I'm really not about that."

"So what's a stiff like you doing on something as chill as a beach? Your war-walker break down nearby?" He asked, chuckling at his own joke.

 

[Keva]

Objective: Talk with the Merc
Location: Bestine Beaches
Tags: [member="Achilles"]

Oh. She knew those, so that’s what they called it in basic a “Bikini”. Such a bizarre language basic was.

[SIZE=11pt]“I do not own anything else.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]She took a bit of time between responses, trying to just follow everything he was saying and why she was being called a “boot”: well she half understood it, assuming it was some sort of nickname for whoever was fresh in the military. Such was the assumption, at least.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Another pause, though this one had her brush away the cigarra. It was one of those it seemed, and she didn’t smoke. Needed to be top shape if she had any intents of leading from the front, which she had many intents of.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“I lived in Chiss space.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]While she didn’t like the smoke she was more than grateful for that ghastly music to finally be quiet, helped her focus more: not that she’d ever say that out loud of course.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“Yes, I am a Confederate. A Marshal.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Though she had an idea that he wouldn’t have any idea what being a Marshal actually meant, it was meaningless rank: she commanded droids and tanks that is all she had attributed it too.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“I’m Keva.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]No point in using the full thing, would must confuse people. Keva was easy for them, she had quickly learned that much. She took in everything he said though, another mercenary: more interested in money than anything else. That’s the label she decided for him.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“Vah tisut cssi ch'otcah b. The confederacy has come to the planet: I am here with them.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]She banked on him not knowing Chenuh for the plainly given “insult”, saying how he talked too much.[/SIZE]