Private Mask off

[Finnea Virlee]

Ever since Finnea decided to remotely launch the self-destruction systems onboard one of the war ships belonging
to the Siths she had currently been working for back then, she'd been on constant look out for any Siths. She was a
target for sure, having destroyed nearly an entire carrier and several other ships were taken down at the same time.
It had cost them a lot and probably a part of the reason why they failed.

She had luckily found sanctuary within the CIS and not only that, but a new position as well. As a Petty Officer she
didn't feel overwhelmed with responsibilities but at the same time she had some saying. And within her field of
engineering, she was very good. But on this particular day, they had taken a landing on one of the very few cleared
spots at Rodia to do some minor repairs and check-ups when one of the screens within her helmet flashed with a
distress signal coming in right before she spotted another ship going down a bit further in. Finnea stood there with
two other officers for a moment, looking between themselves, deciding what to do or rather; who should act.

"FINE. I'll check..I'll send for you if I need someone to pick up scrap-metal, if it hasn't sunk too far down the
swamp already." she huffed in annoyance as she picked up one of the backpacks filled with tools for repairs
and started to walk. She wasn't a fan of the bikes onboard, but she soon regretted her decision. It was so
hard to get through the thick forest and crossing swamps in this hot, humid climate that by the time she
reached the crash-site, it had already been well over an hour and she had emptied her last bottle of water.

Drenched in sweat, she made her way up to the ship, carefully investigating it from the outside while, removing
her helmet because it was just too hot to me wearing it. "Hello? Anybody alive?" she started, frowning at herself
for her own approach.

 

[Lyra Sunset]

Deep swamps stretching for hundreds of kilometres, rainforests covering ancient structures and the smell of high humidity... It was the last things Lyra could feel before a hard fall into the very centre of the jungle...

A violent sound wave went through her entire body as the starship plunged with its entire belly into the hard, earthy soil that had particles of rock in it.
After shattering almost all electronics, the girl's body was thrown first against the ceiling, causing her consciousness to immediately faint, and then she was forcefully thrown to the end of the hold, causing small scars on her arms ...
Lyra lay there unconscious for an hour, dirty and covered in bruises and sores, in some places with her clothes torn and with a special holster at her knee for lightsaber...
At last the girl's consciousness caught the echoes of a pleasant vibration... it was a real speech... At last the fragments of what was happening started to appear in her head and the girl gradually opened her eyes and, breathing heavily, found herself covered with a pair of heavy
boxes filled with various metals that she was transporting for one personal task...They weighed a couple of tons in total and if she tried hard they could be lifted...But this way those around the ship might think that she was a Sith and it would be easier for them to kill her in her current condition.
She gathered all her strength into a fist and said more or less clearly

"Y...yes, I'm alive...can you please help me? I'm pinned against the cabin with all sorts of parts and boxes..."

The girl's voice was filled with some fear, as she was not used to falling down so often, and in such terrain...
Her heart was beating quite fast, wanting more oxygen...

Finnea Virlee

 

[Finnea Virlee]

Finnea stood outside the ship, studying it in silence as she waited for some kind of sign that there was people alive
inside the ship. When she finally heard the voice, she sighed, a bit disappointed that she would have to interact with
another being as she wasn't very good at it. "Hold on, I'm coming" she shouted back as she stepped up to the part
of the ship where she could climb upon it and enter through the gate that had come ajar, probably as a safety
measurement for collissions like this.

Walking through the first room she could tell there had been significant damage done to the whole thing, which
wasn't that surprising regarding the way she had seen it go down earlier. She picked up a flashlight and kept
moving through the wreck until she spotted the girl on the floor. For a moment, Finnea seemed to not really
comprehend her situation as she started to rather study the room and the different boxes, trying to find anything
that would give off some information without having to ask. Sighing again, she came closer and put down her
backpack so it would be easier to work. "Alright, let's move this..." she came over and grabbed a hold of one of
the large boxes that were pinning the other girl down, putting all her weight into moving it.

Now, Finnea wasn't particularly strong, but she could work wonders by just applying her strength just
right and somehow, the box gave in and moved. Finnea got up and looked over at her, checking for
obvious wounds. "You alright? Think you can walk?" she asked, stepping back, keeping a distance with
one hand hovering not far from her blaster just in case she was hostile. She couldn't be too sure, for all
she knew, the girl could be with the siths and if any signs of such were given, she would shoot first.

 

[Lyra Sunset]

While Lyra was being hauled free under the huge box and wrecks that remained of the ship, she tried to breathe properly so that her body could, in case of an emergency, fairly quickly
back into full readiness for a possible conflict situation...But thank goodness, as soon as spmebody approached her and she more accurately heard her voice, her desire to defend herself immediately disappeared.

Soon the slightly gloomy sunlight and fresh oxygen poured over her still slightly covered eyes. The first thing the girl did was to take in the air with her whole chest and thus begin to sense her
surroundings with a force that was already almost restored thanks to her experience from her war days. There were no too dangerous wounds on her body...Rather the general condition was not the most positive.
Lyra looked closely with misty grey eyes at her saviour's blue and brown eyes a little surprised, she never seen such unique eyes before.

"Still a little dark in the eyes...now."

The girl tried to stand up with the help of her strength, holding on to everything she could with her hands and ended up falling to the floor again, clenching her teeth a little in pain...

"I think I need some help here... And also..."

The girl fumbled for the holster on her body and taking out her lightsaber placed it beside her thus showing that she was completely unarmed.
She tensed all her muscles and said

"Try to pick me up, just slowly...the wounds are all very minor..."

The girl breathed warm air quite frequently, though she had not yet fully considered the figure standing before her, she felt she could trust her.


Finnea Virlee

 

[Finnea Virlee]

At a little distance, Finnea would watch the other girl try to get back on her feet only to fall back down again.
It wasn't hard to tell that she was in pain considering what she had just gone through with the crash and
everything. As she requested help, she found herself shifting a little, not really know how to help her because
she didn't actually want to get too close.

At least not until she put her lightsaber down beside herself as an act of showing her that she was unarmed.
Finnea looked from the lightsaber to the wounded girl and it took her yet another moment to make up her
mind. Stepping closer she did as she had requested and hunched down, putting her arm over her own shoulder
and her own arm around her back as she slowly stood back up, letting her have her time to adjust. Walking
slowly away from the spot she had been trapped in, she helped her to get to one of the seats she could
spot in the ship.

"You picked a seriously bad place to crash" Finnea mumbled as she propped her up in the seat, making sure
that she wouldn't faint from having to walk a few meters or slouch over for another reason. She seemed fine
enough, like she had said, but one could never know for sure. "Lucky you didn't hit any of the swamps, actually."
she kept on, eyes tracing the insides of the ship again until they landed on the other girl, rather studying her
for a bit. She was a bit roughed up at the moment, but that much was expected after such a crash landing.
"It..erh.. seems like the exterior of the ship took the hit relatively well, seems most is in tact. Soft ground after all.
But judging from what I saw coming in here, most of the electronics might be badly damaged." she shrugged, still
silently studying the stranger in front of her as she crossed her arms.

 

[Lyra Sunset]

Lyra's body was quite light, only in places when she stopped to rest it became a little heavier because of the strong muscles that were the result of the terrible things the Jedi had been a part of.
Feeling supported she was relieved and as a sign that she was glad of the support she smiled awkwardly, laughing a little to herself that it wasn't her who was saving someone's life but her.
But it was all a rewarding experience for her future life, and what or who it would be filled with Lyra didn't know yet...

As she sat down , Lyra moved her arms, legs and neck cautiously and noticing that everything was working as nature had instructed smiled sweetly. All in all she looked like a real war veteran from the outside, with a tired face, small wrinkles,
brown dirty hair with reddish endings, hands that trembled nervously and with that peculiar misty gaze with which she looked at everything around her.
Her sight gradually returned to her and she could finally see the person who had rescued her. She appeared to be a young lady with a pleasant appearance and a kind soul.
She heard the report on the state of the ship and replied

"There's not much you can do about the electronics. I'm no expert in the field, but let's hope the ship doesn't get left here and end up being taken for valuable merchandise."

She laughed heartily and then carefully looked straight into the engineer's eyes and said in a more feminine, sensual voice

"I am Lyra Sunset...Formerly a Jedi master and participant in many conflicts...Well, now..."

Once again she looked at the ship.

"Someone who looks for something or someone?..i don't know"

She smiled awkwardly...She felt a bit special that someone was listening to her...Someone eho was with her and not somewhere far away...

Finnea Virlee

 

[Finnea Virlee]

Only when their eyes met properly and Finnea took notice of the way she studied her eyes did she avert her
gaze to start looking up over the walls and panels, hearing her voice change as she switched from discussing
the matter of the ship till introducing herself. It made the younger girl shift a little, one hand stroking up her
other arm as if to comfort herself.

"Oh... Jedi master, huh?" internally she cursed at the change of topic as she was so much better when she
could just talk about technology. "Hope you find what you're looking for." she spoke quickly and went to get
her backpack, scrambling to get ready to leave. But she stopped for some reason or another. "I..urhm..."
she scratched her cheek for a moment, reconsidering what she was going to say but decided to give it a
shot after all.

"You know...I'm actually an engineer. I could help you out with the repairs, get this ship up and running again?"
she shrugged quickly, looking back at the former Jedi master, realizing that she hadn't given her own name.

"Eh..and I'm... Petty Officer Finnea Virlee."

 

[Lyra Sunset]

Lyra's eyes met those of the engineer and she felt some strange spark ignite in her heart at that moment... She hesitantly looked away at once too, her dirty cheeks flushed a little...

"I'm sorry... If I'm scaring you... It's alright... "

Suddenly it felt a bit heavy on her soul... She found it hard not to look into the girl's eyes, but at the same time she tried to speak too so as not to create a strange silence...

"Really...? I would be glad if you could help me... I don't know how to pay for it... I guess the money's safe... For materials.... I'll have to see... "

Seeing the girl scratch her cheek a little Lyra felt a pleasant impulse run through her body. She had never experienced such a strange state. She silently heard the young lady's name...
Finnea Virlee. What an unusual name...and so appropriate to her eyes...

"I like that name very much... "

The girl said aloud and realizing that the lady had heard her immediately began to speak differently while blushing

"I... I mean... I'm really glad to meet you... Finnea.. "

After a few seconds she added

"My lightsaber can stay with you for a while... "Just to make you feel safer. Don't be afraid of it... It may be a little heavy at first..but you will get used to it"

Finnea Virlee

 

[Finnea Virlee]

Was it that obvious that she was anxious? Finnea knew she wasn't very good at hiding her feelings but she
didn't think it was that visible! She kept shifting her stance a bit, one part of her wanting to leave the ship
and the former Jedi master, but the other half stopped her from fleeing back to 'safety' of her comfort zone.
She was curious about her, and to have the experience of going through a whole ship by herself? It was kind
of exciting to her.

And there was the prospect of actually being of assistance, not just being a part of a greater team. "Thanks."
she snapped quickly to her complimenting her name, as if she wanted out of the strange aura that occurred
between them which made her more anxious. "I..uh... " she went blank. What did people usually reply to
compliments like that? "I'm glad to meet you too." she said rather stiffly, eyes shifting all around, not wanting
her to stare at them as she knew very well it was a strange condition to have heterochromia this visible and
she felt a bit like a freak. "Lyra." she added quickly.

The mentioning of the lightsaber gave her something to focus on, but she shook her head. "No, I mean. I trust
you and I have my blaster anyway." she tapped on the weapon secured to her hip. "I didn't offer because of the
payment, although it'd be nice of course." she shrugged quickly and slowly took off her backpack again and
hooked down to pick up a few tools, walking over to the nearest panel to start running some checks.

 

[Lyra Sunset]

Lyra swayed slightly to the left and to the right to ease the tension in her heart and atmosphere... Engineer's eyes were as hypnotic as the rest of Finnea's body.

After the compliment Lyra tried to imagine a life filled with fellowship with different people, joy, fun, light, valuable... But instead all that came up was memories of explosions, dirt, screaming, asking for more... And many other living memories that made the Jedi what she had become.
But immediately the image of this girl popped into her head... Like she was a ray of light... And could also ignite the life of a lonely maiden...

Hearing the words of gratitude in return, the girl blushed even more, but was already able to add in a gentle voice

"I trust you too... "

Then another minute passed and the girl asked

"Do you... Do you live here or it's your work place? "

She tried to embellish the silence with the most random, different questions she could think of

Finnea Virlee

 

[Finnea Virlee]

The first test she ran came back with no response which made the engineer frown. She got up and went over to
one of the control panels, hitting a few buttons to see where she could get some response, eventually finding
that there was still contact with some of the batteries. Finnea kept working, loosing herself in her work mostly
because she mentally felt safe there, knowing what she was doing.

Lyras question made her stop working for a minute, turning to look at her for a moment, pondering her
question. "I'm with a CIS fleet, one of our ships has landed near here for some routine check-ups and minor repairs."
she shrugged slowly, getting back to running another test, silently cursing under her breath. "One moment, I
have to... eh... go out to check something." Finnea climbed back outside for a moment, some sounds from her opening
one of the panels under the ship could be heard from the inside and soon she was back, clipping and readjusting
some wires to run a third test where the lights flared back to life within the ship.

For the first time since she came here, Finnea smiled genuinely at Lyra. "I think that it'll take me a couple of days to
have it all repaired, but you'll be up and flying again soon." she declared with some confidence.
"Which has me wondering; what are you transporting? Is it valuable?" she asked of pure curiosity, turning back to
starting up the screens in the cockpit, wanting to see if her ship would give her the reports of what went wrong
or if that would be her next question.

 

[Lyra Sunset]

Lyra sat in complete silence, listening to the sounds of what Finnea was looking at and fixing. It felt relaxing to the girl, as if the ship was being handled by the same engineer all the time. Although it was not the main ship of the Jedi, but rather an additional one just in case, the engineer's quick words about the possibility of flying in a couple of days instead of having a positive effect on the girl's heart on the contrary created a feeling of emptiness...
She looked up at Finnea and in surprise at the suddenly warm calm voice that had come out of nowhere, replied in a similar manner

"Resources, I get resources for money and use them for my personal survival needs. I have no relatives or loved ones alive, no one. Time has separated us all for too long... "

Then the girl tried to get up and though she was in pain she reached out to Finnea and gently took her hand and tried to hold it in place

"But... I.. Will move on... Regardless of everything I've lived through..... "

Finnea Virlee

 

[Finnea Virlee]

Her answer started off so easy, getting resources for money but Finnea soon learned some of her story which made her shift a little and start picking at some of the wild strands of hair hanging near her face. Lyra had no one? "I see... I'm sorry." she started vaguely, thinking about her own situation which wasn't that much greater. Sure, she had living family but she would never see them again, not after what they did to her, sending her away as a child because she was such a shame to them, being a bastard child. And she was always surrounded by colleagues, so she wasn't entirely lonely herself.

For a second it seemed like Finnea would pull her hand away, but she decided to let her have it, standing still, watching her in silence as she tried to read her expression over the matter. Only now did she take her time to observe her lines, the eyes that showed off just how many battles she had been fighting. Finnea squeezed her hand lightly with hers to show her she was listening, giving a little smile. "i hope you will. In the meantime, I'll get you on your feet again" Finnea smiled gently back, letting her have her hand for as long as she needed, having a quick look back at some of the screens.

 

[Lyra Sunset]

Lyra's hand was warm, though a little dry because of the battles she had been in. Her fingers were trembling slightly, either from fatigue or the girl was trying to calm herself down to the end. Holding the girl's hand Lyra was now studying her newfound friend's legs, chest, neck and other body parts and surprisingly it all seemed beautiful and pleasing to her. Hearing a sign of sympathy for her past she instinctively took Finnea's hand with her other hand and stroked it sincerely adding

"Thank you very much. But I think all is not lost and we will find an interesting life together...! I. ...i..mean, you'll be comfortable and so will I."

Here the girl began to walk gingerly, limping a little and holding tightly to the young girl's hands. The touch made her feel younger again and she wanted to see the whole galaxy together with Finnea, so many adventures! So many things...

The girl could smell the tropics and along with the atmosphere of fixing the ship she was filled with something deeply special. Once Lyra accidentally almost collapsed on the engineer and immediately started apologising as if she had done something terrible...

Finnea Virlee

 

[Finnea Virlee]

Finnea looked down at at their hands as Lyra lifted her second hand to stroke hers. Shifting a bit as she could feel
her eyes study her in a way she wasn't used to. When she mentioned that they could find an interesting life together
she started to pull her hand back from her but stopped when she explained a little more, remembering what she
told her about being lonely. Not that she put it down that way, just that she had no one.

She could tell that even is she had told her that the impact hadn't done much damage to her, Lyra was limping
quite obviously even when she held onto her hand tightly. Finnea made her way into the cockpit where she aimed
to stand before the main panels, opening the screens again, reading the codes appearing when Lyra almost
collapsed, making Finnea make a split second decision to grab her before she fell to the ground only to be met
with apologies. "No, no...it's fine, really. But.. Perhaps you should lay down?" she suggested to the former Jedi master,
looking her over for a second time. "I think your body is trying to tell you it needs to rest."

 

[Lyra Sunset]

Thank goodness Lyra's body was caught at the right moment as she was preparing for a not-so-gentle landing, especially when her body as she hated to admit it had not quite recovered yet.
She was surprised at Finnea's words, as normally to calm her down she would have had to either put on some jazz music and get a couple of shots of delicious exotic juice or start dancing but neither of these was part of the reality in which the girl was born and raised, accustomed from childhood to the dogma of relying only on her mind and body for everything and not getting in the way of others.
But here she just couldn't help but feel the warmth of the engineer's hands and approach to her gaze, she knew that it might have been a birth defect, but to her this defect was on the contrary more beautiful than the same colour of eyes as her and the rest of the living beings
in the galaxy had.

Having been advised that perhaps her body wished to lie down the girl was about to object to something, but seeing Finnea's concerned face replied with the same warmth

"I'll lie down of course... I'm just not used to it, usually everyone was lying down and I was running ahead like a madwoman."

The girl replied noticing a pleasant part among the trees and cautiously sitting down she lay down on the soft bed of grass so as not to disturb the engineer

"By the way, I was wondering if you are going back to your base...And me staying here for the night?.."

Of course without words one could understand that the former jedi master was not against the spiritual guardian...more like she really wanted to spend night with someone on a wild planet.. But as reality would tell, so it would be, Lyra decided such and waited for an answer.


Finnea Virlee

 

[Finnea Virlee]

"Maybe that's the problem." Finnea mumbled silently as to let Lyra know she didn't mean to offend her. "Running while
the others rest only get you so far at the time, but they will catch up when you need double the amount of rest later." she
slowly raised her shoulders, avoiding eye contact for a moment after.
She sensed Lyra moving, having spotted the open patch of grass further down. Finnea walked with her to the patch,
making sure that the former Jedi master didn't hurt herself sitting down.

Her question was good, because the night was approaching and it would be completely dark before she could ever
get back to her own ship. She cursed under her breath. "I.. think, regarding the dense jungle and dangerous grounds
that I ought to stay here for the night. I just need to report it." she lifted her arm with her wrist-piece attached,
starting to plot in her message for the rest of the crew to pick up on. She didn't really mind staying, Lyra seemed to
need the company anyway.

"You'll be ok out here while I work just a little more before the night is properly upon us?" she asked, signaling back to
her ship, tilting her head a little, giving her he gentle smile.

 

[Lyra Sunset]

Lyra was lying quite loosely on the grass and moving her arms or legs a little to see how ready she was for a big move if she had to defend Finnea. From the outside she looked like a small bug that had been lying on its stomach for words and couldn't get its legs back on the right plane. On hearing the engineer's thoughts, which spoke in favour of the fact that she would not be alone at night, such music of happiness began to play in her heart that Lyra herself had not expected it, she came to life!

Hearing Finnea say that she needed to step back and work, and after smiling so much, she showed her a lightsaber and said with a cute giggle

"It'll be alright... Really!!! I can protect us! "

And to add more confidence to her phrase she showed off her strong arm, which could really do some good in close combat, and returning the girl a sincere smile in response continued to rest on the grass, thinking over the plans for the next day, while her brain gradually prepared for sleep.

Finnea Virlee

 

[Finnea Virlee]

Finnea had just turned to head back to Lyra's ship when the former Jedi Master spoke, showing her lightsaber.
The engineer turned again and smiled a little, watching her show off for a moment. "Good. But, hopefully we'll be
safe and you need the rest." Finnea shrugged a little and turned again to head to the ship this time, tapping her
fingers over the blaster on her hip as if to assure herself that she still was armed herself. These woods could be
filled with dangers she knew nothing about after dark.

She climbed back inside and started working, but the sunlight was soon gone and her work had to continue
with her flashlight which was just tiresome so she stopped and appeared at the gate of the ship again. "I think
you ought to step inside so we can lock up the ship.. We don't know what might be out here." she spoke calmly,
tapping her fingers at the rim of the ship, dissapearing back inside the ship once more.

 

[Lyra Sunset]

Lyra nodded silently in response and continued to lie there, admiring the undulating, slightly transparent clouds of the planet that flew somewhere in the wind. Everything was eager to move, even on a late evening like this, when the whole forest came alive and turned into a realm of colorful creatures and strange sounds that the girl was not prepared for. She listened attentively to the sounds of the different parts of the ship, so that she could be at ease that Finnea was safe.

After about half an hour or an hour, almost in total darkness, the girl heard a familiar voice and added
"Alright, I'm in and I've become more alive than any living two legged creature! "

The girl joked and stood up quietly as she reached the ship and glancing again at the gloomy shadows around and wishing herself and Finnea sweet dreams to come and entering the ship Master jedi used interface which closed the door with a special code for maximum protection in case the local critters attacked and by closing almost all possible inspection points, leaving only at the control panel overview open, the girl created the closest possible feeling of home.

The boxes were scattered and fresh paint was lying around, which gave off a strong smell, but overall the interior of the room was almost undamaged. It was warm, the small generator was still running and there was food left over, along with warm clothes to sleep in case it got cold.

The girl sat almost extremely close to Finnea and leaned against the warm inner walls while preparing her evening tea with fruits looking around and saying softly

"This is my second ship, I only use it for all sorts of personal missions like gathering all sorts of resources for my personal life. It's got a couple of my personal things, but you're welcome to use it and make yourself at home."

Finnea Virlee