Public Cobble Stone Couture [Open]

[Luc Rivers]

Tirahnn Bazaar​

From the Core to Tirahnn traveling along the Parlemian Trade Route, The Kalel was laden with all manner of goods, from expensive clothing for men and women, shoes to cheap costume jewellery. Entering Concord space had not been without it’s checks and balances, the authorities clear on their policy for Silver Jedi territory, they wanted no trouble. Luc was happy to oblige preferring to keep his nose clean this trip. He was here to sell goods and make a quick buck before moving on.

A job was a job, and he knew how to sell, his charisma seemed to fit the role well.

Although he didn’t pay much attention the trending fashion of the day, he dressed well enough to pass, and a clean-shaven face projected a sense of pride in his appearance. All good things for selling clothing. He could banter with the best of them when he needed to close a sale and with that in his arsenal along with clothes that were above average, ‘at a good price’, he opened up the stall in the Tirahnn Bazaar alongside all the hundreds of others do the same thing.

Early mornings are always slow, with only a few window shoppers passing by, some stopping but their hearts weren’t in it, they did the same to the rest. But lunch time approached, more people had made their way to the bazaar with the lure of the food stalls. Chatting with the local traders, Luc learned that the best days for sales was Taungsday through to Benduday, after everyone was paid, he was going to be here all week and hoped to have the major part of his stock sold, if not .. there was always next week.

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

Katarine Ryiah hadn’t been shopping in over 800 years. Technically she hadn’t done most things in over 800 years, seeing how she had only recently been released from an enchanted sleep. It was a long story, and one the former Jedi still did not understand. Even before the sleep though she had never been much of a shopper. The Jedi didn’t own a lot of material things after all. But that was before and this was now, and the “now” Kat was a lot different. She hadn’t joined a Jedi Order yet, and the odd jobs she had been working had earned her a little money to spend. Most of that went for food or rent but since she was walking around in clothing that pre-dates the days of the Rebellion, she figured maybe new clothes were in order.

She was browsing stalls here and there and trying to ignore the looks she was getting. She did look like someone straight out of a history book. At least she had taken her lightsaber and put it inside her jacket. A weapon that was over 800 years old attracted the wrong sort of attention, as she had learned all too recently.

A clothing stall caught her eye and she wandered over. Everything looked weird to the woman, who had no idea what fashion trends were all the rage these days.

“Is this what the kids are wearing now a days?” She spoke out loud, though reallt didn’t expect an answer as she examined what looked like a jacket.

Luc Rivers

 

[Luc Rivers]

The first day of the bazaar had been desperately slow, Luc sat on an old stool sipping water longing for something stronger, as he watched the people passing by. For the most part they headed for the food stalls to grab something prepared or get the supplies for the week at the meat and veg. By the end of the day those stalls would be packed when the trades dropped their prices to get rid of their stock.

Luc had no such luxury.

Although the bazaar was not teaming with shoppers on this day, there had been enough for him to enough ‘people watching’, this is when he spied a woman making her way through the dappled crowd. She stuck out like a sore thumb, even in this stream of various races and states of dress. Funny how selling clothing heightens the awareness of what people are wearing, any other time he could not care less. She didn’t seem much older than he, but she had a most intriguing style about her.

For all the galaxy, she looked like she had just stepped out of a movie period piece one catches from time to time on Holoflix when you just want to chill. And she was heading his way.

Luc slide off the stool and placed his water down and put on his best smile. “Well, I don’t know about the kids, but that jacket is a good choice. Make by the finest designers in the Core”. That one was, some of the other garments were knock offs.

“Are you looking for anything in particular?”. He waved his hand directing her eye to the dresses and trousers hanging up behind him.

“I have a change booth at the back of my stall if you wish to try anything on”. His eyes travelled over her form in an attempt to ascertain her size, not that he was expert on this.

Katarine Ryiah ​

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

The shop keeper was quick to speak up and tell her the origins of the jacket. She wasn’t particular about brands or designers. She probably wouldn’t know who they were anyway because of the time period but it was nice to know the merchandise was of good quality.

“Honestly I’m not sure. I don’t have a keen sense of style, as shocking as that might seem.” She smiled at him, her deep green eyes playful with the sarcasm she used whenever she was nervous.

She was currently wearing the only outfit she’d owned in her adult life. As a Jedi she had never worn robes since she was an undercover operative. The black boots, tight black flight pants, white tank top, and black flight jacket had served her well. She slid the jacket off, careful to try not to let the lightsaber fall out, and held it in her arms. Her frame was very thin, even a little malnourished after centuries in stasis, so she wasn’t sure of her size.

“Maybe a modern version of what Im wearing now?”

Luc Rivers

 

[Luc Rivers]

The lady smiled; a certain light danced in her green eyes causing his right brow to peak involuntarily as he smirked. “You do have a .. certain style”, strangely the retro look was in at the moment, apart from her jacket which had seen better days, everything else fit in anywhere.

While she peeled out of her jacket, Luc thumbed through the clothes until he found a pair of the smallest leather pants he had, they were not exactly the most fashionable, but they were more current than what she worn. “These might do”, he laid them out for her to look over and turned to find a top, white and form fitting. Judging by her frame, he doubted he had anything in the stall that would fit her well, she was too skinny. As if she had not eaten properly in a good while.

She seemed to like black and white, he wondered if she saw the world this way as well.

Luc pushed the flap of the stall aside to allow her to enter and access the fitting booth. “Let me know if you want to try something else. I am at your service”, this time his blue eyes sparkled with play.

At the present time, she was his only customer, the first one for the day. For the most part of the morning he had been talking to the local children bored hanging around their parent's stalls, “You’re not from around here are you?”, Luc rolled his eyes at his own stupid question, he had never been good at small talk. Most people around here are not from here, including himself.

But what really prompted his question was that feeling he gets when encountering a force sensitive. She was attuned as he was, although this did not concern him either way having no really affinity with Jedi or Sith. Or anyone that align with Orders or Governments. He was just a guy trying to make his way in the galaxy and keep to himself. All of that, and the fact she had a pretty face.

Katarine Ryiah ​

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

Katarine Ryiah Luc Rivers
===============

"Well, this will just have to do for most of this," Aeshi said, scouting out the bazaar. It wasn't her usual gambit when it came to selling goods, but it would have to do in this case. There just wasn't the wide-scale market established for her goods yet. Her co-pilot, a somewhat grumpy Imyni squawked indignantly and ruffled his feathers. "I don't like it much either." Aeshi agreed, setting down the repuslorlift loader's handle that carried the crates with her from the Stardream. "But we're this far towards the Core. They do things differently here, apparently. And how I was supposed to know they just added a tariff on alcohol? It hadn't hit the holonet yet, but it has now, so everyone else will know to stash them somewhere safer."

Another round of squawks and chirps from her first mate as they trudged to a nearby open spot and let the loader sink onto the ground. "Do you know how to set up this stall?" Aeshi asked. "You're a woodworker, aren't you?." The tall, avian alien grumbled in his native language as he set up the wooden poles and cloth overhead to shade them from the sun. "And yes, I'll let HQ know that this isn't a good market for our mainline goods. And with this being SIlver space, I wouldn't want to dip into the black market either."

"Careful!" Aeshi cried, lunging to one side and catching one of the poles in her durasteel hands as it started to tip over. She just managed to catch it and pull it back upright as her companion tightened the ropes holding it in place with a grunt. "Well, this will do." Aeshi said, scratching a sign on a piece of wood from a crate she pried open:

TILLIAN FAMILY ENTERPRISES.
GENUINE IMYNUSOPHY WHISKEY BY THE BOTTLE
ARTISAN IMYNUSOPH WOODCRAFTS
SLIGHTLY USED HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES
DELRAKKIN STONE STATUETTES (SUPPORT THE POST-ATTACK REBUILDING WITH THESE PURCHASES!)
YALARAN-NOGHRI TRADITIONAL KNIVES
TERMINUS ELECTRONICS
OTHER OUTER RIM GOODS
​

It wasn't up to her usual standards for professionalism, but this wasn't their world. Kark, it wasn't even their portion of the galaxy. This was a mercantilist world that the League would love to get a trade partnership with, but there wasn't much that could be done for that. It was a Concord world, although nearby Aresenae wasn't far away, and they had joined the League. And If they could be won away from the Concord, perhaps other could. But she wasn't the one to do it, not here. While the family business was quite wealthy by the Outer Rim standards, that was nothing compared to the mercantilist-princes that ruled this world.

But if she met the right people and the right contacts, they might be able to crack open a part of the market and get their foot in the door. It would take time, since they were so far out of their normal stomping grounds, but it could be doable, if the family considered it a worthwhile investment. As she scoped out the bazaar and its denizens, she noted a distinct lack of law enforcement, which gave her a good feeling. Her pistols were in the shoulder holsters this time, rather than more plainly visible as was the custom where she generally did business. Less police meant she had a better chance at being able to do business on her terms rather than the law's.

And that was, after all, the informal motto of the family business.

"Well, that should do it," her first mate said after a moment, through the translator device. "Hopefully we caught enough attention with that little display."

"I think we did," Aeshi said after a moment, shading her eyes for a moment. "Run this for a while, yeah? I'm going to scope out the competition." She pulled her coat tighter around her and lowered the brim of her hat as she strode off into the marketplace, just letting the flow of the crowd guide her along for a bit.

Something stirred in the Force not far away, and she quickly closed her eyes and dampened her presence, compressing it into a tiny ball, metaphorically speaking. She may be a Warden, but she had no intention of other people figuring things out here if she could help it.

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

She could feel him in the Force, and thankfully it wasn’t a dark presence. The dark side had a weird effect on the girl, but this man seemed attuned more to the light or perhaps grey. That had never been a thing back in her day, or rather it wasn’t labeled. She supposed there were always those that walked in between.

She took the garments he handed her and stepped inside the fitting room. The pants fit well and she was pleased with the reflection in the mirror. The shirt was a little loose but she imagined she would grow into it as she regained muscle mass.

His question made her laugh, a musical sound that she realize she hadn’t done in quite some time. "This is actually my first time on the planet. Do you frequent this place?" She took another look in the mirror and seemed satisfied, so started to lace up her boots. A moment latter she stepped out and held her arms out.

"What do you think?"

Luc Rivers

 

[Marina DeVoe]

Along the Perlemien Route....


Be de beep beep... her droid came around to inquire as to their current destination.

Marina spun her chair around eyeing her mech droid, hiding her smirk.
"Why do you ask?

de be de be be...it replied, giving away it had been linked up with the ship's nav comp.

"Oh I don't know. lets see if you can guess."

De De...it doesn't guess.

"Ok then...see if you can figure it out from the route we're taking."

bee de be be beep...they were traversing along the Perlemien Route. Her droid, TK1213 then projected a hologram portion of the galaxy.
Beep de be de de...it asked if their destination were on the route or off it, as there were literally millions of star systems along the established route.

It were a game they played often...a guessing game. Although her droid didn't guess. yes, she got that.
Still, it were a good enough time passing game during jumps as any. Like Hell, the little bucket of bolts could beat her almost every time in Dejarik, the 3-D chess game...almost. That really depended on her concentration. it took a lot of concentration to beat her droid. But in the right mind set and mood, she could.
Only she weren't in the mood to play that game seriously. And if her droid got wind that she were not trying, it had a habit of scolding her. Well, not really. But it showed disappointment and she didn't take it lightly. TK1213 was for the most part her companion... especially when she were away from Alderaan.

As it went, the droid asked for tid bits of clues and Marina would answer with as vauge a detail as it were possible without misguiding it.
Sure enough in 45 questions, he got it.

"Haha...That's right TK, Tirahnn. Very good.
But I think you knew that as I had spoken to my brother about attending the Great Fair there like a month ago."

De be de beep...the droid wasn't on Coruscant when she spoke with her brother Jerrid.

"Oh?..How did you know it were Coruscant?

be de beep... it reported that Marina had gone to meet her queen, whom were representing Alderaan as Senator Faith Organa. Marina had said her brother would drop by to see her there.

"I see. So you have a good memory. I suppose-"

BEEP BEEP BEEP... her nav comp cut in, before her droid could answer.

"Ah, Ok..." Marina spun her chair back around

"We're just coming up on the Zeemacht Cluster now..." She said readying her ship for emergence.

...4....3.....2....1.... * Emergence.

The Mariner IV emerged out of hyperspace and 300,000 kilometers from Tirahnn.
Why with the Great fair going on, the system was likely bustling with vessels. Emerging at that safe distance gave her plenty of time to gage a course while avoiding a possible collision with another vessel. Sure there were anti-collision fail safe devices built in. But why be reckless when it weren't called for?
Engaging her sub-light drives she made short time of the distance and was soon breaking through the lower atmosphere with a large thundering sonic BOOM!

The Mariner IV had dropped at Mach 10 before marina leveled it out.

be de bee be...her droid sounded off. Tirahnn was just up ahead.

"Yes, yes... I know it's the city's name also, TK. But we're not landing in the greater part of it...too crowded for my taste. Besides.... look there...see...just on the outskirts a good spacious landing spot." She flew over the city and descended down on the outskirt. It were more local and not as bustling.
"Besides... it'll be easier to get around the marketplace with the speeder bike."

be beep...her droid agreed.



Nova Casamyr

 

[Luc Rivers]

His stupid question got what it deserved, her laugh made him smile not that she would see it, "First time on the planet for me too", the answer he threw over his shoulder.

Two more customers approached the stall, one lady liked the look of a scarf which was more of an accessory rather than practical, rich blues and greens threaded throughout the fabric would go very well with a dress she had, apparently. "And the colour of your eyes", Luc gave her a coquettish grin, the woman would have to be in her later years but she seemed delighted with the response from the much younger man. The flush on her cheek, and the small giggle seemed to take years off her. And she purchased the scarf. The other customer, a man, took a liking to a ring and quickly made the sale. A gift for a woman. The man was nervous, furtive and wore a wedding band and Luc suspected the ring was not for his wife. He upped the price of the ring by ten percent and there was not questions asked.

Betrayal comes at a price.

The flap of the fitting room opened and out stepped his number one customer with her arms in the air. Luc looked for over in the new clothes and nodded his approval, "Looks good", and he quickly turned away to grab a scarf, it was more thin then the lady had purchased, and a made of a soft cotton of aqua. "How about a splash of colour?", he approached to wrapped the scarf about her neck throwing one end over her shoulder. Black and white is classic but touched with colour makes it zing. And her deep green eyes had not escaped his notice either. "You should keep your old jacket, the lived in look works well on you". But the rest of the attire looked way better for her.

Out of nowhere, his forcey senses tingled and ran up his spine making him on alert. Luc's brow peaked inward unable to pinpoint the reason or direction of the warning. His blue eyes slowly looked at the woman standing before him in leather, the warning was not about her, he was trying to read her eyes.

Something was wrong .. somewhere in the bazzar.

Katarine Ryiah | Aeshi Tillian | Marina DeVoe​

 

[KSM]

Kat’ra was inspecting a jewelry shop when she saw the human and the bird like creature setting up another stall. On the whole she figured her clan would like alcohol a lot more than jewelry so she decided to switch her gift.

She made her way over and nodded her helmet to the bird species.

“What would you recommend?” Her voice sounded slightly mechanical because of the voice control in the helmet, but such was the life of a Mandalorian.

Aeshi Tillian

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

Katarine felt herself blush as the man threw a scarf over her neck and his fingers brushed her skin. The color was pretty and it went well with the black and white. Overall she liked the effect.

She reached for her jacket and threw it on, then eyed herself in the mirror to see the effect. Overall she really liked it. The outfit felt like her and might be modern enough that she wouldn’t get too many stares.

Suddenly Katarine felt something off. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she scanned the area outside his stall. Finally her deep green eyes returned to him, and widened when she realized he was staring at her.

“Did you feel that?” She felt certain he had.

Luc Rivers

 

[Nova Casamyr]

This was less than a typical job. Nova was strictly a behind the scenes kind of girl. She made deliveries, gave rides, sometimes did salvage work, sometimes investigative work. But mostly Oasis was a small-load cargo hauling ship. Sure, she dealt directly with her clientele, but rarely did she have any interaction with the clientele of her clientele. She just moved stuff from place to place and that was it. Simple. Easy.

Well, not always. But in concept, the majority of the jobs she garnered for her ship were straightforward.

On Tirahnn, though, she had been offered... extra credit. On short notice, no less. The cargo and passengers were straightforward. The Oasis was to move an entire market-stall setup, complete with cooking implements plus store enough food for a festival lasting a few days at least. The owners had most recently been set up on Lakonia. But with the hotbed of military activity between The Sith Empire, The Silver Jedi Concord, the Bryn'adul, and the Mandalorian Union, they had thought it best to make Core-ward, transferring from the Mara Corridor to the Perlemian Trade Route. They had paid, in part, for passage that allowed them entrance into Concord space which had gotten them to Lantilles. The popup-restaurant had setup in a market for a week there and had done pretty well.

But a restaurant wasn't a small operation. At least not what this place was attempting to be. They didn't just serve street food, although they did plenty of that. They also had full courses for order and tables where customers could sit and a wait staff. Many of the previous employees had also been keen on leaving the area while it was in potential turmoil. But it wasn't easy keeping the whole group together once they had made it to Concord space. By the time they left Lantilles, the restaurant only had half the staff. Not everyone had the travel bug like Nova did. So the owners purchased necessary supplies and filled their food stores, paid the last checks to departing employees, paid Nova for the next leg of their journey, and made for the stars again.

That was how they made it as far as Tirahnn. The first day or so had been tough. The restaurant was noticeably understaffed. They had tried to hire some locals but had had a hard time finding good workers so early in the festival. Prospects were better the longer they waited but they needed to do something quick in order to save the business and afford to pay for all the operational costs, let alone have any overhead for further travel. On Lantilles, Nova had enjoyed taking the week off. She had built some contacts on Lantilles and otherwise, just enjoyed some light shopping and some relaxing time planetside. But the restauranteurs were hard pressed for workers and if Nova was going to continue to get paid, they needed help and fast.

Nova could have said no. She could have left the owners to their toil. But she wasn't that kind of person. Even if the decision proved bad for business.

"Welcome to Nilo's. Can I take your order?" She'd never waitressed before in her life. But she and the three astromech droids, with their tray-table attachments, made an efficient team. Nilo, the owner, had setup shop on the outskirts of the Bazaar, hoping to entice incoming spacers with delicious smells of barbequed meats, roasting veggies, and inviting spices. It worked well enough. The restaurant had picked up a decent amount of business and the owner was satisfied that they'd be able to make it and hire a few more hands.

In the meantime, Nova was just glad that her break was coming up soon. Her landlegs were tired.

Marina DeVoe​

 

[Marina DeVoe]

-----

"Are you sure?" She asked, securing her small daypack on the bike's rear rack.
"Plenty of room for you to hang on to, you know..." Marina patted the rear portion of the bike.

De de beep be...it was a definite 'no' to her invite.
DE De De... it didn't calculate the ride was stable. Not for it.

"Say wha-?" She got on her speeder, straddling the seat. "You're meaning I can't ride this thing?"

be beep de beep...it corrected her that it wasn't safe for it to ride with her.

"Oh my my...now you hurt my feelings...." It were all a tease; Marina playing with her astro-mech droid. She knew it didn't want to get on this particular speeder bike with her again. It's last two experiences had kind of burned in a 'No-no' to ever getting on it, especially with marina piloting it.

"Ok ok... have it your way. Just don't complain I don't take you anywhere..."

Be de beep beep...it didn't complain...much. It just stated safety issues.

"Haha...keep the ship secure. I'll beep you..." She chuckled and hit the throttle.


------

Marina slowed down as she navigated through the busy streets. It were her first outing here on Tirahnn. She had been to a few bazaars, but nothing of the magnitude.
There were many, many, many shops, the textiles, the wares, the food stands and tech gadgets from all corners of the galaxy...or so it seemed to her, were everywhere from one side to to corner and the next. It were so that the brick and mortar buildings all seemed to all but disappear, say for when one would look up through the multicolor canopies and see that there were building behind all the stands, temporary kiosks and shop fronts.

It were tempting to have stopped at the first shops she had come across. But she knew well the entrapments of a newly arrived shopper. She had learned the tricks of their trade, on Tatooine no less. They weren't bad by any means, just that they were more pushy on their wares and goods on the outskirts than in the main center portions. Only that there was no real center portion as the Great Fair was far larger than she had ever been to.
marina rode about for a good two hours and there was no near end to it.

She finally decided to set the bike aside and see about trying some local cuisine...or whatever her nose first lead her too.

"Wha!...HEY!!..." She were surprised upon her satchel suddenly being snatched by what were some street children.

"Hey!...Come-
Arrrg!...really?!
~sigh~
WELL I HOPE YOU KIDS USE THAT TO BUY FOOD...and NEW SHOES....s..s....SANdals- Arrg!" It were no use shouting anymore as the street urchins had disappeared not three words into her cry.
"...whatever. " She sighed, shaking her head.

"Damn it, Marina......you'd think you learned from Coruscant." She muttered to herself.
Yep, she had been picked clean on Coruscant's lower levels. Again, children. But that somehow had been arranged by Berkana (God) as she later caught up with the gypsies there. And as it turned out, one of the father's recognized her as the one whom had saved them...whom had risked her life in evacuating the unfortunates whom had been caught behind the encroaching sith when their system were invaded.
in short, it turned out to be quite a reception the resettled gypsies on the lower levels of Coruscant gave her. and of course, her bag and contents returned.

Marina stood there a moment still looking to where these little rascals had disappeared into the crowds. Her heart cried out as she loved children and could only wish she knew where they had run off too and see about maybe helping them and their family...if even they had family. Still, it weren't the loss of the credits she had in her satchel, but what were these children going to do with them...
Currently, she could only hope it were to help them and their family. What else could she do?

"Huh?" She turned to one of the shop keepers whom got her attention.
"Oh...er, no.
No, no authorities. It was just an old bag....candy in there...they must have gotten wind of it...the candy.....yea.
OKay...
Hey listen...any place you recommend serve some good food?" She then asked, changing the subject.

"Yea...yea....
I see...I see... haha..." She laughed, when the man spread his arms indicating 'take your pick'. There were several just starting a few feet from her.


----

"Ohh...that smells good." Marina stopped at the third small eatery she happened on. It didn't look local, as she could tell it were recently set up not too long ago. But her nose sure had her stop and take a look at what was being cooked on the grill. It smelled delicious. Then again, she hadn't yet eaten since her jump.
"Can I ask what it is?"


Nova Casamyr

 

[Moya Virtu]

Wearing: Dress

Armed with: Decoy's Blade (Black core, green aura Lightsaber)

Came to Tirahnn in: Blessing of Loste, via Absolution of Loste

Objective: Scout Bazaar for rare materials with Westenra Mina (Meleena Io Configuration)


Moya sighed as she beheld her daughter Laertia Io asleep inside the field bacta tank aboard the Gozanti cruiser known as The Absolution of Loste.

Her migraines were getting more frequent outside of her armor. Laertia had in the end acquiesced to Moya insisting on a few days in a bacta tank to dull the symptoms.

She was deeply worried. Laertia had been more closed off emotionally. She never went more than two days without calling when she went out and did Force knew what...and Moya knew Laertia loved her as fiercely as ever...

But Laertia was now hiding something...

It hurt the Android. Laertia had suffered such severe emotional damage, made worse by the horrific revelation about her Master, Ursula Sandraven having been secretly the murderous shapeshifting SithSpawn The Amalgam the entire time that Moya knew treating Laertia properly would be like climbing a mountain with no tools. She was doing the best she could. Laertia wasn't doing well in their one on one therapy sessions. Laertia could not talk about Ursula still without breaking down. It had been a devastating blow to her very identity. Only Moya, her new sisters, her own creator Moya De Lifte, and her mysterious two-to three days wanderings away from them seemed to be doing any good at helping her hold on...

(Cutaway of Laertia Io wandering the forests of Kashyyyk with Syd Celsius )

(Cutaway of J. Jonah Jameson laughing in his seat uncontrollably)

But for now, Laertia rested, and Moya was soon to be out looking for the rare materials Laertia needed to build her armors and weapons. Rare Ores, Norris Root dye, capacitors and energy focusing lenses, refined tibanna gas cannisters, crystal--

Moya felt her android brain warm as she attempted to mentally process the stress she was under. She wanted her daughter away from the field of battle, yet everything stood in the way of that. The hated Amalgam stood in the way.

"Moya?" called out a soft toned voice of a woman.

The Android turned, beheld a copy of the Android that had sworn loyalty to Laertia. One of three. Each one looked different save for the golden skin and blond hair.

Meleena Io, the tall, slightly muscular looking copy whose programming caused its personality to act as an older sister to the brain damaged, tombstone skinned Jedi whose raven hair floated freely in the bacta fluid strode over in a golden dress that showed a lot of leg and short gold boots.

"Her vitals seem normal..." the blond Android remarked, using her X-Ray mode to looks at Laertia's organs.

Moya caught the worry, shifted her gaze to Meleena Io. The originator of her design was a strange and ancient woman with odd design ideas that was head of a lethal Royal House clawing its way out of financial woes. Moya knew Laertia could never resist the prospect of actual sisters. While Moya had been privately wary of Laertia's unfaltering trust in the strange Androids, even she had to admit that had they not shown up when they did, Laertia might be in a far worse state mentally, even with Moya's top of the line therapy programming.

Meleena ran a hand over the sleeping Laertia, whose face was covered by a rebreather mask.

"Moya..." Meleena said slowly. "I have to tell you something..."

The bronze skinned Android turned to the golden skinned one. Though they were all copies of one android, and all ultimately had the same capabilities and forms the original had, run time differences between each configuration each copy used caused them to behave differently the longer they stuck to one form.

With the "first" among Laertia's sisters, Melissa, Moya had observed a down to earth focus that was very goal oriented, and her quarters aboard the Absolution revealed a fascination for religious systems. She navigated social circles and could distract with her charm and intelligence. Melinda, the youngest looking one of the Io sisters and coded to actually behave as a younger sister to Laertia had latched onto Laertia the most of the three, spending as much time as she could with the brain damaged Jedi, and possessed a love of birdwatching and model ship building.

Meleena was also deeply attached to Laertia like the others, but in a more reserved way, and looked out for her even when Laertia wasn't aware of it. Moya had observed Meleena to be the most aggressive of the three, boxing frequently with sparring droids, and seemed to enjoy watching combat sports in general.

"I think Laertia is having an affair with someone..."

Moya's eyes widened. "Proof?"

"This..." Meleena said, showing Moya a teal colored envelope. Moya spotted Laertia's name written in cursive on it.

Moya caught the perfume that scented the letter. Atrisian Cinnamon...

"I looked up the chemical signature. Artisinal blend from a special perfume shop on Atrisia." Meleena added.

Moya gave a blank stare as she read the love letter written in Atrisian Kanji, the writer describing Laertia's hair as an ebon grassland and delighting in the paleness of her skin and the deadly shimmer in her dark grey eyes before closing it.

"Where did you find this?" Moya asked.

"By accident. It was my turn to feed the rabbits..." Meleena answered. "I found it hidden behind loose paneling. Corner was sticking out next to all of her magician stuff."

Moya folded it back up.

"Before we leave I want you to put this back 'exactly' as you found it." Moya ordered.

"My databases recorded its positioning. That won't be a problem." Meleena asserted confidently. "But who wrote our dear Laertia a love letter?"

"Good question..." Moya thought out loud.

"No wonder she's been sneaking off..."

Moya took a moment to really process the reveal of the letters contents, how they described Laertia in terms that would have made the scarred Jedi likely go beet red from embarrassment if told out loud.

"This is a good sign though, right? Laertia's gaining confidence to actually seek a lover out--"

"Maybe..." Moya remarked quietly, disturbed by the reveal. "Or maybe Laertia is in over her head..."

"This was always going to happen, I believe..." Meleena thought out loud. "Laertia has a right to find a lover, the same as you. The same as any of us..."

"I'm not disputing that Meleena..." Moya replied, standing up, looking at her sleeping daughter and sighing.

"I just wish I knew why she didn't feel comfortable telling us..."

"She knows you would get sick with worry..." Meleena mentioned respectfully.

"Or she knows I'd have issues with the person in question..." Moya suggested. "But who would I possibly take issue with--?"

Moya stopped as her strategic and deductive reasoning algorithms deduced the answer in a few seconds of quantum calculation.

"Syd..." Moya trailed.

Meleena had reached the same conclusion also. Syd was the only possible candidate.

"Well, I can't honestly blame her. That catsuit she wears looks painted on..." Meleena remarked. "But what do we do about it?"

"We can't do anything. We aren't supposed to know, remember?" Moya replied giving the letter back to Meleena.

"We'll wait when Laertia is ready to talk about it..."


A half hour later...


Moya and Meleena walked the streets of Tirahnn, her olfactory sensors picking up many scents along the way that she idly filed and categorized, though some of her processing power also played back memories of her helping Laertia cook and feed her rabbits. Those were the most enjoyable times for Moya herself.

Moya could tell Meleena was not as worried. She wished she had her fellow Android's confidence.

Moya had of course flashed all the necessary I.D.'s that had her flagged as a lethal military grade biot to get past port authority. It was an absolute must. No way she would have shown up as human on their medical scans. She had endured the mistrustful stares of the ones scanning her, watched as they triple checked the legal paperwork. Meleena however was so advanced that not only did she show up fully human on medical scans, and thus had no need to reveal her android nature, she actually used her beauty and charm to speed the process along.

Moya was somewhat jealous of this. Though she herself was a vision of beauty, the moment many people knew she was a horrifically lethal Android their entire demeanor around her changed, as though they were handling nitro glycerin. Cantinas would not let her in, treating her as a borderline Assassin Droid. Which was utter nonsense. She lacked the fine programming for such subtlety.

Still, try asking an ordinary civilian to make that distinction...

They both turned heads as they walked through the market, but for different reasons. Both were attactive, but only Moya was getting the heads of local officials and such as she showed up in their database.

They spotted Luc Rivers , Katarine Ryiah , at a jewelry and clothing stand. As rare fabrics were on the list and the easiest of the list to acquire, they went there first.

"Excuse me...you wouldn't happen to sell armorweave, would you?" Moya called out, her curvy figure in its long black dress gliding over to his stand. She felt his Force Sensitivity, but her own design made her extremely difficult to sense with the Force, even up close. Meleena had the opposite design intent. Though Meleena was not Force Sensitive, her design allowed the stored psychic energy in her body to emit an aura that made her seem like a light-aligned Force Adept.

"We are also looking for shadowsilk as well..." Meleena said, turning up the charm. "We'll pay top credit for the latter, in fact..."

Marina DeVoe

Aeshi Tillian

 

[Nova Casamyr]

She wiped sweat off of her brow and watched the ebb and flow of the marketgoers. Nova wished she was out shopping and browsing. Sure she felt good about helping the restaurant stay afloat. But she was beat. The only thing that kept her successful at what she was doing was Nova's penchant for never-ending pleasantness. Still, the owners gave her a good long break and she was intending to take full advantage when it came.

"Order number 73, up!" the owner said as he set a platter down on a make-shift, metal-table-turned-counter.

The spacer-turned waitress grabbed it. "Order 73, out!" she yelled back. The rush of the afternoon was starting to fade and only a few tables still had patrons. Nova quickly but casually brought the platter out to the table. Several overlapping tarps provided cover from the sun. Only the grill, pit, and cooking area was left uncovered. But it was easy to walk in and through. She barely heard the thank you as she kept longingly looking out at the passersby and the nearby tents and stalls and booths.

With her attention fixed outward, she saw the next customer approach, an attractive, young blond woman. She, like others, had been attracted by the smell of something unfamiliar. Nova gave the woman a warm smile. "Of course!" she responded with genuine enthusiasm. "Nilo has gornt skewers on the grill right now. They have cubed pieces of meat that's been slow roasted with a special spice rub and then finished on the skewer with veggies and fruits on the skewer so their juices blend just ever-so-slightly together." Nova's stomach had growled when she had first started introducing Nilo's food to the prospective eaters. And while she wanted to go out and explore, she had her eyes set on some skewers for herself on her break.

"Interested?" Nova's blue eyes twinkled at the woman.

Marina DeVoe​

 

[Marina DeVoe]

...veggies.
Something about sweet bell peppers and red succulent meat skewed together with other veggies-
Oh Berkana (God) it were way past interesting.
But two out of three factors weren't enough for one off worlder to commit into trying a foreign cuisine. Then again, her bestie Mariya Fleischer had turned her on open fire roasting. Of course it were on Nal Hutta where Marina had once made an emergency landing and had luckily run into. What followed became a lasting bound friendship. Her bestie were more a sister to her than marina's own, Katie. But that's another story for some cold night huddled around a campfire.

"Haha... actually famished, really...." She replied after taking note that a few patrons were enjoying the very same gornt skews.
It were a clear sign that the food was indeed as good as it smelled.
"...haven't eaten anything today to tell you the truth..." True, true. Marina hadn't had a chance to eat since she had jumped.

"I'll take one....
Uhm, that one?" she pointed to one which were nearly done, but not quite yet. It had move roasting veggies and smaller meat portions. Marina licked her lips in anticipation.
Of course her particular selection would need a few more minutes and two more bastings, but it were worth the wait, she figured.

"Anywho, I'll be right over there... " She pointed to the end of the makeshift outdoor eatery. She wondered if she would see those little rascals again. There was nothing more sad than children making their way through life by means of stealing from others. There had to be some way someone could help them find other means of surviving.

"Just looking out for some little acquaintances to peek out again..." Marina smiled at the light haired brunette. Odd it were not lighter, Marina took to notice, as Tirahnn were quite a sunny city. Chances were the girl were not Tirahnni, not a local. She were too fair skinned to have been on this system for any amount of time.
marina's urge to strike up a conversation, as she were one hell of a jabber, were only curbed by her desire to see if she could spot those children coming back.

"....just whistle or flag me or something when it's ready..." for a moment their eyes seemed to lock, before Marina blinked, dropping them down to the skews.

" I'll ... ~aherm.~..." She cleared her throat, again gesturing where she were going to wait.
" I'll, just be over there... thanks." she then said before turning about.

Marina's eyes made a circle as she walked away and toward the end of the dining canopy. THAT...that was unexpected.
The look...the other woman's eyes seemed to have had a camera obscura effect on her, as it took some concentration to focus on the bustling shoppers and passersby.
No doubt that there were many off world tourists like herself. Many didn't fit in with the local populace.
Interesting as to the plethora of people from all portions of the galaxy that were visiting Tirahnn's Great Fair, the bazaars.

No children though.
At least not the same little bunch anyway. There were many about though. But most were close or holding hands with either their parent or guardians. It were easy to distinguish the one's with guardians or sitters as most of them were not of the same species.
Let's see... textile shops...actually a few textile shops fronts from what she could see.. Wares and good shops from both local and foreign ...exotic herbs and teas. (mental note to check that kiosk out)...minerals and ore shops ...precious metal shops...
Hell, seemed there was just about anything and everything one would wish for, that they could be looking for.
Marina stood there looking about the shops, and passersby...trying to see if her little thieves had come back scurrying about again.
Of course, occasionally glancing over to the grill, checking on her order a few times.

Yes, it could certainly appear that way...

Nova Casamyr

 

[Nova Casamyr]

Nova's eyes locked with the woman across the counter from her for a moment before the blonde looked down. Nilo had told her to dial up the flirting for the orders but maybe she was a little too effective. Still, Nova couldn't help but notice the subtle looks from the other woman, as if trying to figure something out about Nova. It was only natural, after all, in a big port with lots of space traffic, and plenty of people, there were sure to be a good number of transients. Nova herself had tried to play a little game in her head to pass the time by trying to place someone's accent or their garb to a certain region or world. She always played that little game in the back of her head. Though she would never make an assumption.

The order got punched into the kiosk app on the restaurant's datapad. An order popped up on a holodisplay in front of Nilo and he nodded an affirmative that he got it. The blond walked away pointing to a table but Nova didn't get a chance to ask her what she meant about looking out for other acquaintances. So she idled away by playing her little game for a moment. The young woman hadn't had much of an accent. Her fair skin and blue eyes weren't much of a clue either. She was well-dressed, but not overly so. Definitely a spacer of some sort, but something about her was more (well, she wasn't sure) refined, maybe, than Nova was.

Lost in thought and waiting for the order, she caught herself staring at the blond woman and it was Nova's turn to look away. She was glad for the hard work she had put in that morning, her face was already plenty flushed. She was also glad she had chosen dark colors between the apron, the dark shirt, and comfortable, stretchy leggings because she was certain that she was a sweaty mess. With her brown hair tied back into a messy bun, she really had the working girl look nailed. Oh well. Had she just come off her ship after a long run, she was sure she wouldn't have looked much different, just add a bunch of mechanic's grease to the mix.

"Order 74, in the window. After you take this out, go ahead and take your break. Tana just came in. She'll pick up the rest."

In the window, two platters were there, each with a long skewer on it. Nova cheered silently and gave the owner a thank you. The timing was right and Nova could use some real conversation, more than just the pleasantries of ordering food. So she deposited her apron, grabbed the two plates and headed over to where the blond woman sat.

"Here you go!" she said, her enthusiasm no less than it had been before. "And I just clocked off. Would you... mind if I joined you?" Nova's face lit up with a friendly smile.

Marina DeVoe​

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

Luc Rivers Katarine Ryiah Marina DeVoe Nova Casamyr Moya Virtu Kat'ra Smart
==========================

The Imyni tilted his beaked head as he studied the Mandalorian who had approached him, and ran a claw over his feathers, smoothing them beneath the bandanna tied around his forehead. He spoke, squawking and jabbering in Imyni, while the translation device turned it into Galactic Basic, albeit a bit more mechanical and lacking the enthusiasm and passion behind his natural voice.

"We have two kinds-- Tillian-Cola which takes the effort out of whiskey and cola by combining them during the distilling process! And Imynusoph Whiskey in vintages of ten, fifteen, and twenty years. Do you want something strong and fiery? Or something smoother and a bit more sweet?"

He peered down his beak at the Mandalorian, waiting for the answer before continuing the spiel.

====================

Aeshi was impressed by the extent of the bazaar and how large it was. She had heard that these could be bigger than some nations on other worlds. But this was something else entirely. Were there entire trade routes and trade circuits within this bazaar that people made their entire career off of? It was wild to consider that possibility as she traced her way back around in a wide circle.

 

[Luc Rivers]

“Yes”, was his simple response, and a fleeting moment after he felt the alarm, it was gone, and Luc started to doubt himself. But she had too, it was in her eyes as she looked back at him. The moment of silence followed was interrupted by a voice calling out to him. Armourweave and shadowsilk, the lady in the black lacey dress wanted. Luc did not have bolts of fabric, not in the way the woman would have wanted but he knew how to get his hands on some. There were credits to be made in this, and the alarm he felt was quickly forgotten about.

“How much you after?”, he inquired back, but before the answer came that feeling through the force came back only seconds before the explosion. It shook everything, stalls rattled, windows cracked and the wave of screams started from the meat market at the other end of the bazaar, and like an ever grown crest, it reached his stall and people in the bazaar ran in a panic.

A second explosion accelerated the mayhem, and people began to stampede. Luc reached for the stall shutter and pulled in down to lock. It did little to quell the sound of the screaming and crying. A turf war had erupted between rival butchers in the meat market, old guard not welcoming of a new guard, not that Luc cared about it. “I’m going out, best you try and get out of here as well”, he pushed through the back of the stall, damn if he was going to let a deal that might amount to some serious coin be interrupted by a bomb. It may already to too late ..

He approached the lady and gave her a card with his details. “I can get some for you at a good price”, but the wave of people put an end to the conversation. People ran pass covered in meat and blood, some their own but mostly not. Curiosity got the better of him, he was going to head to the meat market to take a look.

Katarine Ryiah | Aeshi Tillian | Marina DeVoe | Nova Casamyr | Moya Virtu |​

 

[Marina DeVoe]

'Smart little cookies...' Maybe too smart, thought Marina.

Why would she think they would return to where they just had their little caper? Well, at least not in the same day.
If they were anything like the little darlings on Coruscant, they had a routine...a daily round. They wouldn't be too far from where they congregated... to where took or dropped off their stolen loot. They were working these streets, knowing quite well who were clueless foreigners and they would be back tomorrow again for new unsuspecting pockets for sure...she were figuring.

Marina gave her crono a look, more to set her mind on remembering the time the little buggers had made the hit on her, before she glanced on over again to the grill-
"Oh!...." The moment she turned was when the woman had just come up to her. No, Marina hadn't expected it. Not with taking turns looking through the busy shoppers for her little capers and over to the woman.
"Haha.... oh my, sorry...." She were embarrassed a second, before her eyes settled on the tray.
"Mind was elsewhere..." She quickly explained, now wondering if she had double ordered.
Had she?
Hell she could recall really, as she had been kind of taken by the woman. There was a kind of familiarity about her that Marina just couldn't put a finger on. But as outgoing as Marina was, she knew enough not to strike up a 20 question interrogation interview. Couldn't very well just outright ask as to what was her story. The woman certainly were not Tirahnni. Not by the fairness of her skin. Marina herself had applied UV block before getting her speeder out of the ship's hold. Still, sunblock or not, any lengthy residency to this arid sun soaked city, (hence the tapestry of canopies and awnings), there would be evidence of a sun kissed tan on her features.

Her smile lit up, realizing as to the double order. It were company then. Marina realized it when the woman only served her one of the skews from the tray.
"Oh not at all... please." She invited the woman to sit.

"I'm now no longer guessing as to having made the right choice... in ordering I mean." Seriously, how could one go wrong if the very same person serving the food takes part in consuming it.
"Smells delicious..." Marina's nose tingled from the fresh served treat. Oh, and the juices were still dripping...indicative of course as to let it cool off a moment before pouncing on it.

"Name's Marina..." she extended her hand across from the table, flashing her pearly whites.


Nova Casamyr