Private Edge of the Abyss

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

Mistral looked at her. "I don't know if I would recommend it but waterlogged clothing is never a good thing. Though most boats should have some sort of gear on them so don't have to be naked." He said it and the wookiee roared as the man looked at him. "Fair, some of us don't have clothing to take off and dry." He was moving though and looked at Aya. "Do you know which island this is then?" She seemed to be looking at him with a small nod. "No but it is land for now, we left from the east of the island which means the island we are one is either Mi'vari or Mi'uta. One has cannibals, the other had shipwrecked lovers in stories but is used as smuggler caches so there are more supplies."

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana stared at Aya for a long moment after the explanation, still wrapped in damp clothing and running almost entirely on exhaustion, adrenaline residue, and increasingly fragile optimism.

"I would like the record to reflect," she said slowly, "that I strongly prefer the island with supplies over the island with cannibals."

Her eyes shifted toward the dark shoreline ahead, trying to determine whether it looked more like a doomed romance or a ritualistic murder.

Unfortunately, both islands probably looked identical at night.

"Though," she added after a moment, the analytical part of her brain refusing to stop functioning even now, "there is a possibility they only eat each other and leave outsiders alone."

A small pause followed.

"…I realize that is not actually comforting."

The boat scraped lightly against the shallower shoreline as the storm continued weakening behind them, and Ana looked toward Mistral again with tired suspicion.

"Also, if we discover this is the cannibal island after we disembark," she added dryly, "I would like it officially noted that your retirement plan remains catastrophically flawed."

Mistral

 

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

He gave her only a nod with that. "Noted, though for the moment I am going to consider it a small sign of not being a cannibal shore since we haven't been attacked yet." He said it and was shaking off the leathers of his outfit more then needing to dry them as the wookie roared. "Yes, I wear leather because of the storms. It doesn't absorb nearly as much and I still have a knife. I think I showed I can do a lot." THe wookie roared again making a gesture with his claw. "Real mature." He was looking and Aya laid there as she spoke. "Either way I don't plan on us being close enough come dark." She said it and rolled to mostly dry a little more. "Plus, I have dark water tattoo's the cannibals would not eat me first."

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana looked between Aya and the Wookiee as they casually discussed leather durability, knives, tattoos, and cannibalistic prioritization with the kind of exhausted familiarity usually reserved for weather reports.

At some point during the night, she had apparently crossed into a completely different category of reality.

"I appreciate that your reassurance strategy seems to involve ranking which of us would be eaten first," she said dryly as she stepped more firmly onto the shoreline.

Her gaze shifted toward Aya's tattoos for a moment before returning to the dark jungle beyond the beach.

"Though I admit I am fascinated by the implication that even cannibals apparently have cultural etiquette." A small pause followed. "That feels strangely respectful for the circumstances." She brushed damp sand from one sleeve before glancing toward Mistral again.

"Also, your argument that you still have a knife after everything tonight is unfortunately compelling." The faintest trace of tired amusement crossed her face.

"You have survived storms, sea cliffs, fortress creatures, armed mercenaries, collapsing ruins, and possible cannibal territory largely through cardio and aggressive stabbing." Another beat. "I cannot technically argue with the results."

Her eyes drifted back toward the treeline again, watching the darkness beyond the shore while the storm slowly rolled farther out to sea behind them.

"Still," she added more quietly, "I would prefer we determine which island this is before anyone starts making dinner plans."

Mistral

 

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

"I don't know if it is etiquette, if they appear I am just going to shout to them like I am part of the tribe and point to all of you." Mistral listened to the womana nd there was something reassuring about the simplicity of it at least... nothing overly complicated. "Well at least it doesn't involve explosions or a catapult." He heard Ana and only gave her a nod as he chuckled a little to himself at the thought of it now.. they had been deep in infiltration and getting through it. "I don't know why I am thinking about it but the idea of launching ourselves instead of her randomly breaking into singing and fancing to mess with them sadly lifts some spirits."

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana looked at Mistral for a moment after the comment about singing and dancing, her expression flattening with the exhausted resignation of someone realizing the conversation had somehow drifted from cannibal islands to improvised musical warfare.

"I regret to inform everyone," she said dryly, "that I cannot contribute meaningfully to either strategy."

Her gaze shifted briefly toward Seastone.

"I do not know how to sing, dance, or distract hostile tribes through theatrical performance."

A small pause followed.

"My skill set remains tragically limited to computers, anxiety, and surviving situations I should not statistically survive."

Despite herself, though, there was the faintest trace of tired humor behind it now as she looked out toward the dark shoreline again.

"Though if we reach the point where interpretive dance becomes part of the tactical planning," she added thoughtfully, "I think we can officially declare this mission compromised."

Mistral

 

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

"We have seastone she can handle the singing and dancing." He said it but found a place to sit down as the wookiee was there with him and they took a moment. Aya rolling over as she finished drying herself off and wiped at the sand. "If it comes to needing to dance and sing to fight we'at least make it something memorable." She laughed but was looking at the island as she walked down the beach and Mistral looked at Ana. "If it makes you feel better we have most of the mission good, it was compromised the moment we went a hundred feet in the air from the chute and seastone thing." THe wookiee looked and roared as Mistral gave a nod of his head. "Yeah we flew threw the air and smashed into a mountain then ended up in a mud pit."

 

[Ana Rix]

"I think what concerns me most," Ana said as she looked between Mistral and the Wookiee, "is that neither of you tells these stories like unusual events. You describe being launched into the air, colliding with a mountain, and ending up in a mud pit with the same tone most people use when discussing a delayed transport schedule."

She shifted slightly on the driftwood, drawing her knees up just enough to rest her forearms against them while the surf rolled steadily onto the beach nearby.

"When I first heard the word 'infiltration,' I imagined something involving discretion, planning, and perhaps a reasonable respect for gravity. Instead, I have learned that your version apparently involves being fired through the air, smashing into geological features, and improvising the remainder of the operation from whatever unfortunate location you happen to land in."

Her gaze moved from Mistral to the Wookiee and back again, the faintest trace of exhausted amusement finally finding its way into her expression.

"At this point, I am honestly unsure whether the mission succeeded because of the plan or because the galaxy eventually gave up trying to stop you."

The sound of Aya moving along the shoreline drew her attention for a moment before she looked back toward the group.

"And if Seastone's singing and dancing ever become a decisive tactical asset, I fully expect someone to include that fact in the official report. Not because anyone will believe it happened, but because after everything else I have witnessed tonight, it would somehow be the most believable part of the story."

Mistral

 

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

He looked up at her and gave a nod. "Maybe but you should always plan for the first two or three to ideas to go wrong or have a problem. The secret is to try and have something that will build off of that and one where you can adapt to situations if they really start to change." He said it and the wookiee was looking at him as he spoke. "Yeah, best way to handle the overdone defenses and numbers advantage do all of the things they aren't prepared for and then keep switching it up. Either they will think you are tactically brilliant or they will not notice you because there are too many of them and one or two not checking in is common enough so you are able to move around better."

 

[Ana Rix]

"I am beginning to understand why my contribution to these operations is usually supposed to occur after everyone stops running," Ana said, drawing her knees up slightly as she sat on the beach.

The waves rolled steadily onto the shore now, the worst of the storm remaining farther out to sea, though she still found herself glancing toward it occasionally as if expecting the weather to decide it was not finished with them yet.

"You keep describing situations that sound less like plans and more like a series of increasingly creative reactions to things going wrong."

There was no criticism in her voice, only the quiet observation of someone whose preferred environment involved machines that generally behaved according to documented specifications.

"Which is probably why I spend my time around computers. When a system does something unexpected, it is usually because somebody made a mistake."

Her gaze shifted toward Mistral and the Wookiee.

"When people do something unexpected, apparently the solution is to become even more unexpected than they are."

The logic felt deeply suspicious to her.

Unfortunately, tonight had also demonstrated that it worked.

"I still think most of your plans sound insane," she admitted, a trace of tired amusement finally creeping into her voice. "But given that we are currently alive on a beach instead of dead in a fortress, I am forced to acknowledge the possibility that there is a method hidden somewhere inside the madness."

Mistral

 

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

He gave a nod of his head. "You bring a lot of grounding, Seastone might go out there but the grand plan and method is going to have to be something no one sees coming.. still you provide a good amount of insight to many of the things that we have been doing for now." He said it with a look though when he stretched out from the rock where he was propped but most of his clothing was dry and Seastone was coming out as she stood on the boat. "Woot, hey... over here look... listen... we might be on the island with all of the cannibals... so if you see an unknown person whatever you do don't run... square up with them and make yourself seem larger and stronger.... it works I think."

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana had been prepared to accept Mistral's assessment with only mild embarrassment. Being called "grounding" was certainly preferable to being described as another source of chaos, especially after spending the last several hours watching Seastone treat explosions as both a hobby and a problem-solving method.

Unfortunately, before she could formulate a response, Seastone emerged from the boat with the unmistakable energy of someone who had discovered information that absolutely could have waited.

Ana listened to the warning in silence. Then she listened to the advice.

Then she considered the fact that it was being delivered by the same woman who had previously suggested explosives, torpedoes, singing, dancing, and meat shields as viable solutions to problems.

"I appreciate that your plan appears to be based entirely on confidence and uncertain wildlife behavior," she said, her voice carrying the sort of dry patience normally reserved for malfunctioning software. "Though I should point out that making myself larger and stronger may be difficult. I am neither of those things."

Her gaze drifted toward the treeline beyond the beach, where the darkness seemed considerably more ominous now that cannibalism had become a recurring topic rather than a hypothetical one.

"Also, if we are on the cannibal island, I suspect the locals are already familiar with the concept of food attempting to run away." The thought did not improve her mood.

Pulling her still-damp jacket a little tighter around herself, Ana looked back toward Seastone and shook her head faintly.

"If an unknown person emerges from the jungle and your immediate response is to challenge them for dominance like an aggressive animal, I would prefer a few seconds' warning before the plan begins."

Only then did she glance back toward Mistral.

"And thank you," she added more quietly. "Though I think the insight mostly comes from being surrounded by enough chaos that somebody has to stop and ask whether any of this is actually a good idea."

Her eyes drifted toward Seastone again.

"The answer continues to be no, by the way."

Mistral

 

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

He looked at her and offered only a nod and laug. There was certainly something to be said about plans... but he was fairly certain she was more then right about squaring up and making yourself larger around cannibals. It didn't seem like it would end well for them or for anyone else who tried it. He was there leaning against the rock while Seastone stayed there. "You don't know that.. I don't know that... we could find out... for science aand stuff. Though Sioric says that we might also be at the smugglers cache so if Aya isn't in the jungle half eaten cause no one was listening for her screams and distracted... she might be returning with booze."

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana followed that chain of logic with growing concern.

Cannibals. Smugglers. A missing guide wandering alone through the jungle. And somehow, the conversation had naturally arrived at alcohol. At this point, she was beginning to suspect the islands themselves operated according to a completely different set of rules than the rest of the galaxy.

"I could certainly use something to drink," she admitted, drawing her damp jacket a little tighter around herself as she looked toward the treeline where Aya had disappeared.

The thought lingered for a moment.

"Though I feel obligated to point out that our current plan appears to be sitting on an unknown island while waiting to discover whether Aya returns carrying liquor, supplies, or evidence that the cannibal theory was correct."

There was no panic in her voice, only the weary observation of someone whose standards for a successful evening had been lowered repeatedly over the last several hours.

Her gaze drifted back toward Seastone.

"Also, I am not volunteering to test your hypothesis regarding making oneself appear larger and stronger."

A faint trace of amusement touched her expression.

"If we encounter cannibals, I intend to rely on the more traditional strategy of standing near the people carrying knives and explosives."

Looking between Mistral, the Wookiee, and Seastone, she considered that for another second. "Preferably while holding a drink."

Mistral

 

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

Mistral looked at Ana and spoke. "Close, though I would say more sitting in the sun trying to get dry enough so we aren't waterlogged and uncomfortable the entire trip back. Aya's scouting is just a product of it." He said it but offered it as a small smile as he finally rose up. The sound of Seastone getting off the boat when she offered only grins. "Relying on explosions and knives is important, can you imagine how boring things would be if everything went to plan? You wouldn't be able to have any vest to your life." She came out of the water but stretched. "Plus anytime you can mix explosives of people who are bad and hurting people with alcohol it is a good time."

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana listened to Seastone's defense of explosives with the weary expression of someone who had long since accepted that arguing against the Twi'lek's logic was an unwinnable battle.

The problem was that Seastone genuinely seemed to believe every word she was saying.

"I am a digital architect," Ana replied, drawing her knees up slightly as she sat on the sand. "Not an investigator like Mistral, not a scout like Aya, and certainly not whatever category of professional you fall into."

Her gaze drifted toward the boat, then the jungle, then the dark ocean beyond it. Looking back on the last day only made the situation feel more absurd.

"I don't even disagree that explosives and people can occasionally mix well. The evidence supporting your argument is unfortunately standing all around me."

That was perhaps the most frustrating part. They had survived. Against every reasonable expectation, they had actually survived. Ana let out a slow breath and leaned back against the driftwood.

"I just want to go home now."

The admission came more quietly than the rest.

"I want a dry room, a functioning network, a project that cannot bite me, stab me, poison me, drown me, or throw me off the side of a fortress."

A faint shake of her head followed.

"I'd like to get back to my digital work and leave the adventuring to people who are better equipped for it. People who hear about cannibal islands and hidden fortresses and think, 'yes, that sounds like a productive use of my time.'"

Her eyes moved between Mistral and Seastone before the corner of her mouth twitched ever so slightly.

"Which appears to be all of you."

Mistral

 

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

Seastone looked at Ana and she put her hand son her hips as she spoke. "Me? I am a..... Librarian." She looked with her lekku. "I organize the library of explosives, weapons, fuel, equipment upon our ship. I catalogue and maintain, restore and translate the technobabble of Aya and others." She said it and Mistral laughed more to himself as Aya was coming back with a box on her shoulder. "Good news there are no cannibals... the bad news is it looks like they haven't been here enough to restock so what finery they were smuggling is a little outdated... and there is not much booze... or extra weapons. THey were likely run off or hired away from their other jobs."

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana watched Seastone's explanation unfold with the expression of someone trying very hard to determine whether she was joking, though experience had long since taught her that the answer with this crew was usually both.

"Of course," she said after a moment, her gaze drifting briefly toward the boat. "A librarian. I should have recognized the signs immediately, given the enthusiasm for high explosives, the casual relationship with safety regulations, and the tireless willingness to test theories in the field. Truly, it represents the sacred traditions of scholarship."

There was enough dry amusement in her voice to make it clear she was playing along, but the sudden arrival of Aya drew her attention away from Seastone's self-appointed profession and toward the box balanced on the woman's shoulder. Ana processed the incoming news in strict order of survival importance. No cannibals was excellent, limited alcohol was disappointing, and outdated smuggled goods were potentially useful.

Letting out a slow breath she hadn't realized she was holding, Ana felt the immense weight of the situation finally begin to lift.

"I cannot adequately express how relieved I am that the evening has shifted from a cannibal island to an understocked smuggler cache," she admitted, rising from her place on the sand to look toward the box. "That is a much more reasonable category of problem. Though the fact that your good news and bad news both center entirely on inventory management probably says something about how long you've all been running together."

A faint smile touched her face for the first time in a while as she glanced from the crate back toward the dark jungle Aya had just emerged from.

"And honestly, at this point I will happily take outdated supplies over hostile wildlife, because one of those is considerably less likely to eat me."

Mistral

 

[Mistral]

Ana Rix
The woman seemed to nod as she was putting the crate down and motioned with a hand for the twi'lek. Opening it up but was giving out some of the things. "Empire day bundles." She said it and Seastone more laughed as Mistral looked at it and held it up. "What is..." He was looking at it and it at first looked like an imperial uniform... except tighter, more something you would make swimming gear out of then cloth and the coloring was he only thing re recognized as the pants were shorts and it was an open collar shirt. "Imperial groups come here, they would wear heavy clothing so many of the islands adjusted and adopted these outfits to be comfortable and survive."

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana accepted one of the bundles and unfolded it carefully, her expression growing increasingly skeptical with every additional piece of clothing revealed.

At first glance, it looked Imperial. At second glance, it looked like someone had explained the concept of an Imperial uniform to a resort designer after several drinks.

Her eyes moved from the shorts to the open collar and then back again. "I don't think Imperials were allowed to change," she said thoughtfully. She held up the shirt between two fingers. "In fact, I'm reasonably certain some of them would have considered comfort a disciplinary offense."

The garment received another doubtful look. "This feels less like an Imperial uniform and more like someone saw an Imperial once from a great distance and attempted to recreate the experience from memory."

A faint smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she looked over toward Mistral. "Though I admit the tropical adaptation of authoritarianism is not something I expected to encounter tonight."

Turning the bundle over in her hands, she eyed the dry clothing with growing interest despite her criticism. The fact remained that it was dry. That alone made it increasingly attractive.

"On the other hand," she admitted, "I have spent most of the day soaked, chased, shot at, nearly drowned, and stranded on a possible cannibal island."

She glanced down at her damp clothes. "My standards are becoming flexible."

Mistral