Marsh Haunts

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vexen"]

The Mirialan waited on Platform 29E on that small galactic alliance port near the Tion Cluster. It'd been a week or so since she'd parted with Val. The Jedi Academy had sent her to the Alliance. Perhaps they'd been too disturbed by her story of what occurred on the Star Destroyer to keep her around. Or maybe her dark thoughts were just swirling too much.

Regardless, the Alliance had no problems pulling her in as a resource. She was on her first mission for them. She'd fought wars before. Why was she nervous?

Perhaps it was because she was meeting someone new. Someone named Vexen. Scuffed boots tapped restlessly against the pavement of the platform. Myrtle ellipses scanned across the small crowd, resting on the taco stand across the way.

Maybe there'd be time for a snack.

 

[Vexen]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

You'll be fine

Those were [member="Micah Talith"] 's last words to her. Words she kept repeating in her head. I'll be fine, she told herself again. Except that the words sounded hollow when she said them. Why couldn't she match Micah's own conviction on the matter?

She had her armour on with the mimicker turned off. Whilst it appeared that a canine shaped shadow was inhabiting the armour it was generally better to be more visible in her experience.

Her ship was in the hangar but she needed to find this [member="Taheera Sollo"]. Platform 29E, green skin. Someone bumped into her as she stopped to get a good look around.

"'Scuse me," Vex muttered. There was no reply. She didn't like being around this many people. A flash of green. Not that Vexen saw colours the same way as humans. She had a broader spectral range and saw in five distinct bands compared to a human's three.

Move.[/]

It wasn't really a good use of the Force, but she was getting anxious. As she moved through the crowd this time it parted before her and neatly closed in her wake.

"Taheera?" She asked.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vexen"]

The empath and healer caught whiffs of a shared trepidation. Myrtle-ellipses zeroed in on the source of the small voice that said her name. That must be Vexen.

No time for taco trucks.

"Hi," she said a bit shyly herself and stepped forward, green-palm extending. "Vexen?" The new Mirialan with the essence of a clone had never seen anyone like Vexen before. Sure, she'd read about all sorts of species in the jedi archives but...meeting one in-person was always different. Plus, that armor. She tried not to gawk too much.

Her other hand self-consciously picked at her own clothing.

"Am I under-dressed?"

A happy middle ground.

 

[Vexen]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"Don't normally wear nothing, so I wouldn't worry," Vexen replied. Like many furred species she was more comfortable without bothering putting more furs on top of her own. Why the humans had evolved with none and had to cover themselves she had no clue.

"This is comfortable," she explained. "And when I wear summit, folk don't tend to stare as much," she admitted. There was a slight waver in her voice. She'd never met another of her kind and there were only rumours of the wraiths as a species.

"Anyway, I've got a ship, but not all the stuff on the mission?"

She didn't speak in high galactic, that was for sure. Hadn't even learned to read until she was eleven years old. But Micah did tut when she dropped her T's and resorted to street slang.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vexen"]

"Glad you've got a ship because I'm a lousy pilot." She smiled but she was definitely being serious. Took her awhile to figure out what summit meant or what Vexen was trying to say.

Oh. OHOHOH.

And something about not staring.

Green cheeks colored slightly and she looked over at that taco stand again. Mission. Right. Stay focused. Don't be such a twat.

A hand wove through chestnut strands of hair, pushing the stray bits from her eyes. "Right. The mission." She began following the wraith to her ship. "There was an Alliance supply ship that went down on Abraxin. Not that unusual. Only this ship was carrying some lightsaber crystals. And maybe some other things those above my pay grade weren't willing to share."

Fingers came up in air quotes.

"Need. To. Know basis and all that. The ship's last logs that were transmitted also mention, well, some sort of boogie monster."

She laughed a bit nervously.

"Maybe the crew hit their head or got spooked. Not sure. But our mission is to try and retrieve the cargo and the crew. If they're alive."

 

[Vexen]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

Vexen cocked her head to one side. One ear flopped down. Expressions weren't always easy for species that couldn't see in the ultraviolet portion of the spectrum. However, her silhouette was generally visible. Over time she had taken to making more overt gestures to show her feelings.

That wss, of course, once Micah had managed to stop her expressing herself by growling and flashing teeth when frightened. Which was most of the time.

"That's...Erm...A little bigger than they said to me," she sighed. "Oh well, come on then." She turned and started to head towards the ship, a rapid courier she'd borrowed from the alliance. She was an acceptable pilot, but not much more.

"You're a Jedi?"

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vexen"]

Okay. That ear flopping was adorable. Fingers twitched at her sides. She wasn't about to hug Vexen even with this strong desire to just...

How would I feel if I had adorable floppy ears and moved my head to the side? It wouldn't just be an invitation to be hugged!

Throat cleared.

"Oh, well....do you think we need back-up or something?" Voice was a bit nervous. There was no reason to be foolish about these things. However, she doubted the alliance just had spare members lying around to help, especially on this side of space. And the crew, if they were still alive, needed help sooner rather than later.

She hesitated on Vexen's question. She knew how jedi were viewed and definitely not always a good thing, especially these days. Purple-lips parted. "I am," she said quietly. What she really wanted to say: It's complicated. I'm a clone. I met the Dark Lord. I essence transferred and there could be something very dark living inside me. HAHA what's a jedi?!

Instead, "What about you?"

 

[Vexen]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"'Spose," she replied noncommittally. She gave it a moment's thought. "I've never really..." Oh what was that word, began with an F. It didnt come to here. "Never been a proper part of the New Jedi Order. I just kind of go where Micah goes. Do you know Micah?"

When it came to Vexen, knowing Micah was the obvious route to earning her trust. A trust with did not come easily.

"And we'll be fine," she added with a modicum of confidence. The ship loomed above them. It was a fairly reliable and quick courier. Easy to fly which was useful as Vexen was no expert pilot. Mostly she learned because Micah used to leave her in his ship whilst he did dangerous things and getting.him out of those dangerous things had become her job.

"We'll be quiet about it and if it's trouble we'll get more help."

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vexen"]

Vexen's modicum of confidence gave her some. It was a bit catching but not like the Gulag plague. "Right," she nodded her head, myrtle-ellipses tracking over the wraith's ship. Looked space-worthy. "We'll be smart about things."

No reason to jump in even though the Mirialan had a habit of doing so, sacrificing oneself was her fatal character flaw. Val would be proud that she was being a bit more cautious than usual. But part of her caution was respecting Vexen. She wouldn't want to put her fellow Alliance member in more danger than they'd both already be in.

"Micah?" Thoughts drifted over the list of healers she knew personally. It was mostly Avalore Eden. A few other jedi from her Academy days. Val. Jaxton Ravos. "Doesn't ring a bell. Is he your....brother or something?"

She didn't have a clue.

Boots clicked softly on the ramp to Vexen's courier ship as they boarded.

 

[Vexen]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"Brother? No." Vexen took a moment to think about her answer. He was more than a friend, he was everything. The only family she had ever know. No point getting into that here. "He's a friend, we mostly work together. 'is sister is Aela Talith? Mother is Kira?" Vexen asked over her shoulder as the entered the ship. A tap had the ramp close up behind them.

The cockpit had two comfortable chairs situated side by side. Vexen clambered into the pilot's chair and started tapping into the navcomp to get the hyperdrive calculations done. There was a message from Alliance control with some specific coodinates for investigation and personnel files.

"You need anything before we go?"

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vexen"]

"Talith sounds familiar. Something about false gods?" Was that right? She'd only been alive a few years. Clone life. And there was only so much time to read Jedi archives.

"And he sounds like a good friend to have." She had some but she'd always been jealous of others who came from a big family. She had no family. Stomach grumbled.

She slid into the co-pilot's seat, cradling the small bag she brought in her lap. A reluctant hand dug out a ration. She was beginning to hate these things and their bland flavor. But there was rarely time for anything more. "Nope. I'm good. Want a ration bar?" Myrtle ellipses drifted to that taco stand outside the viewport. "And if we get back from this okay, what would you prefer, hard shell or soft?" A finger pointed to the stand.

 

[Vexen]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"Huh?" Vexen replied. "Oh that were 'is dad."

Shadows danced across the console and a low hum started as the ship came to life. Vexen followed Teheera's wistful gaze to the stand near the deck floor. Her bright eyes widened just a touch. She looked back at the ration and off to the stand once more.

When Micah had first found her she had become decidedly squishy around the middle on the first two years. Ten years she had gone living off scraps. Abundant and often sugary foods had been hard to resist. She was better now, but offered food was hard to resist. And a good way into her trust. Micah and food, both good routes.

"It'll take a few mins to be cleared to go," she exaggerated. "Go on, go quick. Hard shell please."



Technically the Alliance hadn't said anything specific about not eating in the cockpit. However, as they say munching contently, bathed in the cerulean glow of hyperspace, she wondered if they would have something to say on the matter later.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vexen"]

"Mmm," a contended groan left her purple lips. She had hard-shell as well and Vexen was beginning to be a female wraith after her own heart. The spice and cilantro was just right. She also got a side of baked tortillas to dip in a steaming cup of melted cheesy queso for them to share. The liquid gold dripped down her chin as she stuffed another chip in her mouth.

"Beats ration bars any day."

A green hand patted her now content and full belly.

They weren't that far from the swampy planet but they had a little bit of time. She began cleaning up, offering the last chip to Vexen if she wanted it. "How'd you come to be with the Alliance anyway?" Maybe that Micah guy was part of it as well?

 

[Vexen]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"Micah," she replied plainly. "Erm, longer version...This old Jedi called Omai Rhen went round and collected all the spread out Jedi. He went and got Jacen and Aela. Then he sent Jacen to come and find Micah. There was Laura there and Mara lots of others who'd followed Aela when she tried to start fighting back."

There was an affirmative nod as Vexen considered this. She then proudly proclaimed: "We've bin there since the start really. Fought at Lujo an' a space battle. Me an' Micah set charges on the One Sith flagship which sent them packing."

Vexen considered this for a moment as she licked her paws clean. It was easy for her to dismiss her contributions. She mostly went where Micah asked her to go. But the pair had been at some pretty big events and made a difference.

Vexen sat a little straighter in her chair.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vexen"]

Chestnut brows rose. "Wow," she spoke quietly, casting Vexen a sideways glance. "I'm glad you were able to experience a win." Myrtle-ellipses shifted from the wraith to the viewport. The swamp world was beginning to fill in more of the view, it's browns, greens, and muddy-blues swirling together. Shoulders slumped a little, tugging at the crash-webbing that kept her in.

"I've only experienced loss when it comes to sith."

She'd leave it at that.

She forced a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "But maybe joining the Alliance will change that for me." Reaching over, she tugged a headset on, keeping it just over one ear, so she could hear Vexen. But she wanted to listen to the crashed ship's last logs again.

 

[Vexen]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

This, like everything else the mirialan had to say was chewed over by the young wraith. She thought Taheera looked about twice her age, give or take. Vexen was only around fourteen. She wasn't exactly sure.

"I've only been fighting for a few years," she said. "Some of the older ones bin' fighting since we'll before I were born. I guess over time it goes both ways."

Vexen's snout twitched in the air. She was uncertain now. Something about the way the girl had expressed the word 'loss'. It was easy with Micah, she spent so much time with him and held such a tight bond through the Force. Other humans and near humans were nowhere near as easy to read. Still, she knew she didn't always have much to say on important matters. Certainly not where it came to loss. Her own parents were little more than vague shapes, more defined by scent that appearance.

"What you listening to?"

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vexen"]

Brows scrunched together in concentration. Eyes flickered to the navigation controls. She began typing in the last known coordinates of the ship they were supposed to be finding. She wasn't sure yet if that's where they crashed or if it was their last transmission site.

She heard Vexen and noticed the snout movement.

It was good thing the wraith had well established vocals because if she was having a hard time reading the Mirialan, it was about as twice as hard for the Mirialan to read Vexen. It was like looking at a blurry shadow sometimes.

"The ship's last transmission. Most of it's static. The pilot sounds a little...," she paused, hearing something on the headset that made her do so. "Off-hinge. And," the hairs on her green skin rose slightly. "I dunno. There's something in the background that doesn't sound quite natural. Not sure what it is." She offered the headset to the wraith. Maybe she had better hearing.

"Wanna give a go. And just how old are you, anyway?"

Hopefully it wasn't a rude thing to ask.

 

[Vexen]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"Erm... Thirteen or fourteen I think. Maybe fifteen," she replied. Vexen wasn't really sure. She had a rough idea of how many years had passed before Micah had found her. They had seasons on the Ithorian herships.

Her most fond memories were of playing in the piles of leaves in the deeper woods. It had been a waste of energy when she had been low on food, but she had done so every year anyway.

She wasn't even sure how old her species would live. However, Micah had suggested they probably had something called 'puberty' at a similar age after she'd been particularly irritable for a few weeks for no reason. Perhaps that's why he really felt she needed some time away.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Vexen"]

A teenager. A normal person might be surprised. Taheera wasn't normal. Technically, she'd only been in this verse four years in the body of a twenty-something year old. Clone life. Then the whole essence transfer thing....and suddenly, she had no idea how old she was. How old this body was.

Best to move this conversation on. Things would get a little too...complicated to explain. And she didn't know how Vexen would react. She'd been judged pretty harshly for being a clone when folks knew in her first body. She didn't know if Vexen would be one of those and was too scared to find out. The planet loomed closer before them.

"That's young, right? Teens? For stuff like this?"

Like, being a BA force user.

 

[Vexen]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"I guess," she replied quietly. Vexen didn't really have much of a grounding in what 'normal' really was. A claw reached out and idly skewered a miscellaneous bit of burrito from the console. "Hmm gonna be handy to vanish when I take this back to Alliance."

Cocking her head to one side, she decided perhaps more of an explanation was warranted.

"Micah and Aela made summit called the cov'nant when they were young. Started pickin' fights with sith and trying to do some good I think. Wasn't much good in the galaxy back then I don't think."