Dominion Nanotripping | Darkwire Dominion of Parcellus Minor

[Rika]

Location: /*or// i---g* /n a--/-/_ -/-, / -e// _-m*_ //__st/-/. Or maybe a bar on Nar Shaddaa?
Objective: Paper Flowers
Tags: Cassus Akovin | Daiya | Toph Graystone | Chloe Santhe | Gray Venasir | Brie Jaxx | Siala Vash | Ursula Vizla + anyone else joining

They were taking a long time, his parents. Jorj supposed that if he hadn't seen his mate in a long time that he would probably want to steal them away for the evening and not care about any other happenings near or far. Still, the greens were wilting and these weren't the kind of greens that stayed delectable after wilting.

"We should start. Leave the grown-ups to their own devices."

"They'd wait for you," was the response Jira had.

Jorj tried to keep his eyes from rolling out of his head. "Come on. They also wouldn't want the food to go to waste. Weren't you just complaining to me about being wasteful?"

"They'll be out when they're out."

The argument was ridiculous. Jorj knew as well as Jira that the food would go uneaten. There was no unity being observed in that. So why bother? It wasn't as though their father would disappear again, never to share another meal...

Wait. Again? No, that wasn't right. He'd always been there. Hadn't he?

Shaking his head of thoughts he couldn't explain, Jorj stood from the table. "Fine. If these veggies are reserved I'll just go and pull one from the garden."

As he made for the door, Jira started to chase after him. "Oh no you don't."

He started to run and a laugh passed his lips. The laugh felt good, as if he hadn't laughed in a long time. Why hadn't he laughed in a long time? Wasn't he happy? He had no time to process that thought before a similarly laughing Jira tackled him from behind and they spilled out the door into the front yard. He hit the ground lightly all things considered, expecting Jira's weight to turn into quite the tumble. "Your garden isn't safe from me as long as you keep me from eating dinner you downy rabbit."

Jorj picked himself up off the ground but found the ground to be floor. The touch of cool stone surprised him. Lacking too was the tumbled body of his sister. He looked around to see a cantina, a rather dank and depressing one. All cantina's were depressing before you started drowning in booze. Why did he think that?

"Watch yourself, ya drunk," said a Twi'Lek walking past Jorj's sprawled body.

Those were familiar words. But why? Jorj didn't drink, certainly not in excess. Why had he heard those words directed at him before? He stood up and looked around. Nobody seemed to pay him much mind. He walked up to the bartender. "Where am I?" he managed to say, hhis speech slurring. Was he drunk?

The bartender gave him a look like he was crazy. "My bar."

"Right. And where is that, exactly?"

"Ko Hentota District." Jorj shook his head. Never heard of it. "Nar Shaddaa?"

"What? How the heck did I get to Nar Shaddaa. I was just on Parcellus Minor."

"What the kark is a Parcellus? I think you've had enough. You're cut off, pal."

The bartender walked off and Jorj was left scratching at his right ear wondering what in Fajah was going on.

 

[Gray Venasir]

Location: Denon (Virtual Reality (Balmorra, ???))
Objective: Paper flowers
Tags: Daiya | Brie Jaxx | Rika | Cassus Akovin | Siala Vash | Ruby Jaxx Queen Popara

"Alright, sweetie, and this controls the hyperdrive."

Gray was sitting in his ship, with his youngest daughter, Nilitya, in his lap. He was showing her what the different buttons and controls on the ship were doing. The ship was standing on the ground, though, so he was mostly telling her, but she seemed to be enjoying it nevertheless.

The ship, The Noble Nightingale, was the only place Gray hadn't felt somewhat out of place this day. It has hard to put a finger on it, but something was not right. But the ship felt like it always had. Small, cockpit, soft seats, the holochess table in the main area.

"Now, just sit here for a minute, okay? I'll go get us something to drink." With that, Gray put Nilitya in the co-pilot's chair, and got up from his chair. There was a cooler near the holochess table with some sodas in it, and it was a pretty hot day, especially in the ship. He got to the cooler, took out two sodas, and began to walk back to the cockpit.

But as he walked through the door, he found himself no longer in his ship. Gray found himself in some sort of city, where he had just walked out of the door of an apartment. Trying to turn back and walk back to his ship, while being confused, Gray hit the door of the apartment he had just walked out of with his head. He felt the pain from the hit starting in his forehead, but had to ignore it, and try to find out what was going on. Where was his ship? Where was Balmorra? Where was his daughter?

Looking around, Gray saw a young blonde woman, no, probably just a teen, who seemed to have just walked out of the same building Gray came from. She looked quite harmless. But before Gray could decide to talk to her, she had walked too far away. When Gray realized that, he ran after her. "Hey, miss? Young lady? Could you tell me where I am, or what is going on here?" He managed to catch up with her. "This might sound crazy, but a moment ago, I was on Balmorra."

 

[Brie Jaxx]

Location: Streets, Middle City, Denon (Virtual Reality)
Objective: Paper Flowers
Tags: Daiya Cassus Akovin Siala Vash Ruby Jaxx Gray Venasir Queen Popara Chloe Santhe

The streets of this urban town, wherever she now was, were almost as busy as the ones on Coruscant she came to think of. Humans and aliens shared it while airspeeder traffic could be heard and seen high above them. Wherever she was? Yes. The thing was, that she didn't know where she she had lived... before the world she knew fell apart. Was she back now? Back where?

The fear and confuse of first having awaken in an unknown bed, on the fly meeting her... her sister? And then sharing a breakfast with her mother... It all was still confusing but the fear was slowly changed into curiousness. She tried to make out where she was by reading some signs written in galactic standard on her way, but suddenly an older male voice caught her attention as the man seemed to want to talk to her. A bit startled at first, she stopped and turning around. Though, she soon realised that he probably weren't a robber or murderer or something, just a man that seemed equally confused as her. He looked friendly, but as usual she were still cautious against strangers.

''It does sound crazy...'' she begun and gave him a coy glance. ''To be honest, I'm... I'm not sure either...'' she continued and glanced around at the people that passed them, some probably on their way to work and some other teens on their way to school, or at least were supposed to be in school.

Adjusting her rucksack, she raised her glance to the man once again. ''I'm as confused as you, realy... What's your name? I'm... I'm Brie.''

 

[Siala Vash]

Objective: Paper Flowers
Location: ??? (Bar on Nar Shaddaa)
Cassus Akovin | Daiya | Toph Graystone | Chloe Santhe | Gray Venasir | Brie Jaxx

Siala's bloodshot eyes flickered towards the other side of the bar where there was a dark-haired man sprawled on the floor. Had he been there all along or had he just... spawned? Standing stunned, she couldn't quite decide either way. But she pressed her back to the wall, keeping herself well out of the way of any bar patrons. And from her current vantage point, she watched as the scene unfolded.

A Twi-lek muttered the word 'drunk.' Siala felt like she had the worst hang-over of her life, but she hadn't had a single drink... that she could remember. As the man ambled up to the bar, Sia watched him go—he seemed just as confused as she was.

“Nar Shaddaa...” she whispered, repeating the words she overheard.

Parcellus Minor. Her brow furrowed darkly. Nothing added up here—but her sly gaze honed in on the man, standing there scratching his ear. She didn't know who he was, but maybe he was the key to figuring out what the feth was going on here.

Sidling up to Rika , Siala flashed a tight smile and pulled him into a hug.

“So good to see you again,” she said, loud enough for anyone nearby to hear. Then, in a hushed voice next to his ear, she added. “I don't know you—but I think I need your help. I was on Parcellus Minor, too.”

She pulled back to gauge his reaction, and she glanced over her shoulder a couple of times.

 

[Ruby Jaxx]

OBJECTIVE 2: RAMPANT CHAOS

Ruby shook her head, still very much confused. She never sang out loud; not when there were other people around, at least. But for those few notes of song, she'd been somewhere else...

A flash of a bar.

Like she was somewhere singing bad karaoke. As she soaked in her surroundings—the smell of the wet pavement, the reflection of clouds in the windows, and the eerie quiet. She felt normal again. Well, as normal as she could be.

Then, she caught movement out of the corner of her eyes. Across the street, in an alleyway, a young man beckoned. Gaze narrowing, Ruby crossed to his position. He eyed her warily, and he reached out suddenly and pinched her arm.

“Ow!” she pulled away. “What gives?”

“Sorry,” he said. “I just had to make sure I wasn't... seeing things.”

What. Didn't he have that a bit backwards? Ruby crossed her arms and considered the meek guy before her. He carried himself with a paranoid twitch and posture made to make himself appear smaller. Was he hiding something or was he just crazy? Either way, he was the only person she'd seen so far that was able to stand up and speak to her.

“Who are you?” she asked. “Who are you...with?”

“I could ask you the same.”

“Listen, just cut the crap,” Ruby said, the heat starting to rise in her face. “My name's Ruby. I'm here to help. Or whatever.”

The guy continued to stare, his face showing her the conflict happening in his mind. He sighed and gestured towards himself. “I'm Dash.”

And then he started off down the alley.

“Follow me.”

 

[Daiya]

Location: Elsewhere on Denon (Virtual Reality)
Objective: Paper Flowers
Allies Nearby: Toph Graystone
Allies: Cassus Akovin Chloe Santhe Gray Venasir Rika Ursula Vizla Siala Vash Brie Jaxx

[Post Soundtrack: Breakout by Cryoshell]​

"What's wrong, Daiya?"

That aura of confidence Daiya had projected on the walkways, before now, started to falter. She looked back and forth a few times, before settling back on her brother. He was looking at Daiya as if she had two heads, and for a moment, she felt the same way. Some part of her was finding this whole thing completely acceptable, while the rest was screaming that everything was wrong. That was the part gripping her with an overwhelming anxiety, and it wasn't the confident Daiya who asked her brother, "This isn't the way to the Oasis."

Now he was looking at her as if she had three heads!

"The Oasis? No, this is the chic part of town, duh," Gem told her. He said it so easily, so casually, that the girl almost believed him. The part of her that agreed rose up in strength, trying to beat back that instinct which told her this was a farce. But Gem was younger and he hadn't seen the streets like she had, he was probably just repeating what someone else told him. "That temple place is lame, why would you want to go there?"

The girl rounded on her brother, "Because that's my job!" She scoffed, shaking her head as she turned away and started walking along the chic part of town. None of this made sense to her, but she wasn't about to let Gem in on that. "I don't know why I'm supposed to drag you along with me if you're going to be such a baby about it."

"I am not!" He insisted, stamping his foot on the pavement. Daiya stopped to look at him, raising an eyebrow in amusement. Gemyn was quieter as he said again, "I'm older than you were when you started with Eiko, anyway."

"Yeah, and mom hated it, but Eiko paid me really well for that. It got us off the streets, and let you not work for him. So you're welcome," Daiya huffed again, and resumed her walk. The street was definitely unfamiliar, and the people on it occasionally looked askance at the pair. Their clothes, their weapons, their walk, it clearly wasn't right for the area, and that wasn't unknown to the girl. She ignored it. "Come on, we can still get there this way."

Better to make others think she knew what she was doing. Walk with a purpose, talk like an expert, and people generally gave way.

Then there was her brother, keeping pace beside her. Daiya had to give him credit for bouncing back so quickly, if he would just stop arguing and let her work, she'd be seeing Tylo in no time! Then this would all be an amusing anecdote, of making a wrong turn during an errand, and not a bewildering avenue of confusion. It was just like him to only make things take longer, "Why don't you just ask Toph?"

"A tough what?"

"No, Toph!" Gem pointed in the direction of a dark-haired woman looking as distinctly confused as Daiya felt. For some reason, the girl felt a spark of recognition. That was impossible, she'd never met this lady before.

Still, something told her this was the right person to see. She didn't know how, she didn't know why, but the girl's instinct was to approach this tough Toph person. Maybe she would know what was going on with the streets. Deciding with a tip of her head, the girl strolled over to the surprised woman, "Hey, Toph, you look lost."

 

[Cassus Akovin]

OBJECTIVE 1: PAPER FLOWERS
LOCATION: THE MIND
THE AFFLICTED: Daiya , Toph Graystone , Chloe Santhe , Gray Venasir , Rika , Ursula Vizla , Siala Vash

​

The trip to Denon was shorter than expected, and Cassus could barely remember the trip at all. He must have slept through most of it. His mother awoken him when they arrived, and now the pair walked through the streets of Denon. The nostalgia of being here prompted him to talk with her.

"You know, this was the planet where the Guild found me after Geonosis, and how I got caught up with Darkwire all those years ago."

"I suppose I owe my life to them, then, for giving you the resources to save me." He couldn't see her face beneath her armor, though he got the sense she was smiling. Suddenly, Cassus saw a face he hadn't seen in many years... and it didn't seem to have changed at all in the slightest. How...?

" Daiya ? Is that really you?" He called out to her. He looked to where she was looking, and turned his face to see another familiar face. "And Toph?"

 

[Mir Nehrahn]

Location: Parcellus Minor
Objective: 2 "Rampant Chaos" - a.k.a. Try and solve this ... whatever this is
Accompanied by: Kur Brile, Duros male and Stannon, Tynnan male
Tags for others on same objective: Ruby Jaxx | others?

The galaxy was built upon logical principles. If x is true, then y. If y is less than or equal to z, then a. No matter how ridiculous a problem, ...

... a soft thudding resounded through his chamber ...

... No matter how annoying a problem was, there was always a logical explanation for said problem. Even when a piece of information was as of yet unknown, that did not mean an answer did not exist. Scientific phenomena were observed and analyzed until they were understood. A hypothesis became a ...

... the thudding returned, louder this time ...

... Became a theory became a law. Answers to problems were revealed after exhaustive research. There truly was no such thing as a miracle. There were no supernatural elements. Reality wasn't a fairy tale. Reality was ...

... more thudding, louder again ...

"Uhh, Mir? Are you... are you... what do kids call that... twerking?"

Reality was immutable. "I don't know what it's called," the Ithorian scientist responded, his voice raspy and faint through his damaged vocal chords. <The dancing is caused by a reaction to the nanobot in the nucleus accumens.> Mir switched to Ithorian to avoid further irritation of his trachea. His native tongue caused much less strain than Basic. <Most species have an equivalent component of their brain that controls dopamine responses. In this case, the nanobot seems to be inserting responses independently. Most curious.>

"Curious... Right... Does it hurt?" Stannon, his diminutive, furry friend asked.

<Fortunately, this feels quite pleasing.>" For some reason, Mir found that irritating.

 

[Extari Kanos]

Location: Prex Cal Morrow's Flagship
Objective: BYOO
Tags: Cal Morrow

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The boots of the now self-proclaimed Allegiant General Extari Talon hit hard against the floors of the Lucrehulk Class Supercarrier. One by one the corporate security officers were brushed to the side as he and his red-clad warriors marched to the bridge of the ship.

"Prex...allow me to introduce myself. I am Allegiant General Extari Talon, Supreme Commander of the Final Order"

Final Order. He scoffed at his own statement. He had been reduced to creating his own fiefdom by the so-called "Provisional Moff Council". However he was taught not to hold grudges or judge a character by thier actions so...time would tell.

"For the time being, I'll be assisting you with military affairs. Per the orders of the Direx Board or at least someone on the Direx Board. But...I am not your Viceprex and you do not presume to command my armies"

 

[Malicar]

OBJECTIVE 2: "Rampant Chaos"
LOCATION: Parcellus Minor

The loose “confederation” known as Darkwire were an interesting bunch—but also a valuable resource. It only made sense for Malicar to ingratiate himself in among their lot—they were his kind of scum. Parcellus Minor was where his contact from that organization was going to meet him to discuss a possible logistics deal, shipping their “less than legal” products across the galaxy. But such arrangements were business as usual for Interstellar Shipping. After all, taking materials and products across the galaxy from A to B was their specialty—whether legal or not. While Interstellar Shipping was indeed a “megacorporation”, their ties still ran quite deep into the underworld. Once the Underlord Eshro of Black Sun, Malicar Raith could not so easily just “step away” from that life. Of course, he had no intention of doing so anyway…the credits were simply too good.

Malicar was given the warnings about the virus that was sweeping across the planet. Not turning down an opportunity for a lucrative trade deal, he donned an airtight suit and went anyway. Smug in his knowledge that we would be protected, he proceeded towards the tower for his meeting. The first indication that something was wrong came immediately with people simply standing, sitting or laying down deeply lost in their own thoughts. The occasional citizen was skipping, singing, or pontificating to themselves down the street. It was a surreal scene altogether. Just when he was about to congratulate himself on how smart he was, Malicar began to waltz through the street, hands positioned as if he was dancing with a partner, flowing across a ballroom floor.

Poo doo--not so smart now, are you Malicar...

 

[Daiya]

Location: Elsewhere on Denon (Virtual Reality)
Objective: Paper Flowers
Allies nearby: Toph Graystone Cassus Akovin
Allies: Chloe Santhe Gray Venasir Rika Ursula Vizla Siala Vash Brie Jaxx

[Post Soundtrack: Ghostbusters by Spooky]​

Something strange was definitely going on in this neighborhood. That rankled her. When she'd woken up, everything was normal. She had a good life, a reliable job with a boss who liked her, a cute blue boyfriend, and a family that she could stand...most of the time. Now, suddenly, she was on an unknown street in the middle of familiar territory, next to someone that her little brother insisted she should know. Daiya felt like she was going crazy.

Or being pranked.

That bell sounded loudly in her head as someone new stepped close. The girl had to take a step back at the sight after a double-take. He was older, and decidedly not blue. Still, it was hard to mistake this newcomer for anyone other than, "Tylo?" The girl could feel her heart start to race. No, this couldn't be happening. With everything around her falling apart, he was the one good thing she wanted to hold onto. "What happened to you?!"

Daiya's breath came in short gasps, and a hand clutched at her chest. She could hear the thump-thump, thump-thump of her heart pounding in its cage as if trying to escape her. Escape this reality, this nonsensical world. The girl wanted to return to earlier, to this morning before she woke, back to when everything made sense. Back to normal.

If she could have seen the future, the girl would never have gotten out of bed. Or never have turned down this street. She could have rented a taxi to take her to the Oasis, or insisted that she and Tylo meet up earlier. Something —anything!— to avoid the catastrophe she was witnessing now.

"No," she murmured quietly. Daiya shook her blonde head, sending her hair whirling about her. "No," she insisted, a little louder this time. The girl took another step back, as if physical distance would give her a clearer perspective. "No," she uttered in dismay, the picture before her just as wrong and confusing. "NO!"

"Daiya," her brother appeared by her side again. His voice pointed, his face full of concern. Daiya looked at Gem's youthful face, etched in sincerity. "What's wrong?"

He seemed real to her, but the real Gem wouldn't have recognized this street. The real Gem hadn't met the wandering lady. And the real Gem would have known something was very wrong with the version of Tylo standing in front of her.

Daiya stooped forward, leaning down halfway to his level to answer his question in a low voice.

What was wrong?

"Everything!"

 

[Rika]

Location: A bar on Nar Shaddaa? Parcellus Minor? Perhaps a hallucination induced by a case of delirium tremens? Ugh- my head hurts, gimme a drink.
Objective: Paper Flowers
In the Vicinity: Siala Vash
Somewhere Else in VR: Cassus Akovin | Daiya | Toph Graystone | Chloe Santhe | Gray Venasir | Brie Jaxx | Ursula Vizla + anyone else joining

He jumped a little when a woman came up and hugged him. His disorientation threatened to cause him to stumble and tumble to the floor once more, but the support from the woman kept him upright. He barely managed to catch what she was saying through the pounding in his head.

"Uhh. Yeah, hey... friend," the words still came out slurred and awkwardly too loud for a normal conversation. "I think it's time,... to go home." He slung his arm over the woman's shoulder as they walked toward the door. "The last thing I remember was getting tackled by my sister on our front lawn," he said to the person asking for his help. How was he going to be any help to anyone? He was a drunk. Wait -- no that wasn't right. He was a loving son and a good brother. He could be a little aloof but he always helped out. "How the heck did I get to Nar Shaddaa? I've never even been off my homeworld."

His father had though.

But where? His father had never told them where he went. He'd never left anything behind. And yet, well, he was never gone that long. He couldn't have left Parcellus Minor. He was just out doing business. Jorj tried to picture his father in his mind but the image was suddenly blurrier and he couldn't quite picture the man's face. He could remember Jira though, always happy, always motivated, always supportive. And his Mom was there. Supportive but uncomprehending. Unperturbed and yet somehow burdened. Kind and yet somehow resentful.

No. No... No! That couldn't be the family he had just been among less than half an hour ago.

His headache began to increase in intensity and Jorj breathed out hard to try and clear his head, or at least release some of the pressure he felt. His long ears sagged as he made the effort. He and the woman supporting him reached the door. "So... who are you, exactly?" Jorj pushed through the door and back into his family cabin. Things started to feel alright again and he almost forgot about the woman at his side.

"Jorj, there you are," a voice said. The voice belonged to his... who did the voice belong to? The person speaking was blurry, pixelated like watching a bad holo connection. But everything else in the room was clear, including his Mom and sister sitting at the rough-wooden dining room table, just about to eat. "Sorry for making you wait. Come and sit so we can eat." The blurry person spoke again, the voice was clear but Jorj couldn't place the timbre. Like he'd never heard this particular person speak.

"Is that your girlfriend?" His mother chimed in.

"What? No, Mom. I-"

"Just like you to go out and find a girl who isn't even Leporine. I'm never going to have grandkids, am I?"

Why would that be so? Do I hang out with other species that much? When did Mom have so much disappointment in her tone towards me?

"You will from me, Mom," Jira said, an innocent smile on her face, but sad eyes for her brother.

"Oh I know, dear. May Fajah bless you with two beautiful girls. Now, Jorj, come and eat. We'll make a place for your friend."

 

[Queen Popara]

A lot of cargo was being moved inside the ships, the plan was to smuggle all of those things all over the Outer Rim. She had found a new lane that was not being watched that well that now allowed her to move her drugs back to that sector without any issue, to Pheda and Balmorra, alongside other planets that were sure to be her best customers yet. It was a real nasty business making sure that her goods reached her clients, especially nowadays where uncertainty ruled over the galaxy. All suggested that something horrible would happen, some would rise and some would fall, as a new crown was being set to be placed over someone's head. She did not cared about who ruled the galaxy, she had her own agenda.

Poisoning Darkwire was something dangerous and difficult, a lot of loose ends had to be tied, a lot of people died and the droids had to be wiped or placed with a chip that made sure that they had no information against her. It was a lot of money wasted just for someone to own her a favour, but then again a lot has changed in the galaxy, the Sun Guard wasn’t for hire anymore, Black Sun got entwined with the Eternal Empire, the Pykes were dead, the Cartel needed friends, they needed the greatest mercenaries on the galaxy to help her if she ever were to need their them. Not just to take over Nar Shaddaa, that was something they could on themselves if they needed, but more.

<“Send word to Darkwire, Ani. Tell them Popara has the same issue with the same virus and tell them I found the cure.”> Her majordomo bowed to her and went off to do her bidding, he was the only that knew her secrets now and Popara, despite trusting him with those secrets, she was almost ready to get rid of him, his snoring irritated her. Falcone’s family was not a problem anymore, as she promised him, they would never work a day in their lives, and faithful to her promises Popara repeated that for both his wife and daughter as she tossed them on her pit and watched with delight as her maalraas eat them alive.

 

[Gray Venasir]

Location: ??? (Virtual Reailty)
Objective: Paper Flowers
Nearby confused girl: Brie Jaxx
Other confused VR people: Daiya | Cassus Akovin | Rika | Siala Vash | Ruby Jaxx | Chloe Santhe

"I'm Philc... Gray. I'm Gray. I think." Answered Gray, while putting his hand on his forehead, and hold out his other for the gril to shake. Somehow, he thought he should only introduce himself as Gray, even though he thought everyone knew him as Philcas Grayligan Venasir. But a voice in his head told him to just use Gray. "I'm glad you're confused too. I mean... that it's not just I that feels something strange is going on."

"Do you have any idea where we are? As I said, I was just on Balmorra. No wait, I was on my ship. Or..." The ship had been on Balmorra, but at the same time not. And he had been with his daughter. "But I don't have a daughter," he said out loud, not thinking about how crazy he sounded. Have I been drinking, or something, he thought to himself. But then he remembered that he was talking with a teenage girl, who was probably scared or creeped out by him now. Collecting his thoughts, he turned to where she stood.

"Sorry, let me start over. I was on Balmorra, and now I'm here. None of it makes sense, and nothing feels right. I presume you feel the same way?" The way he spoke still made him sounds like a madman, but he spoke clearer and more collected now. And now that he could think more straight again, he was sure there was something familiar about this girl. Like he had seen her, or spoken to her before, sometime.

"Do I know you from somewhere? I swear, you look familiar." Or maybe it was just more crazy-talk. Anyway, it was hard for him to appear more mental than he already did.

 

[Brie Jaxx]

Location: Streets, Middle City, Denon (Virtual Reality)
Objective: Paper Flowers
Tags: Daiya Cassus Akovin Siala Vash Ruby Jaxx Gray Venasir Queen Popara Chloe Santhe

She took and shook the mans hand with a hint of skepticism in her eyes and demeanors. The way he talked was like he had hit his head or something. Still, she could not deny that she almost felt the same being in this... world? Scenery? Dream? Everything were so real, but still so hard to grasp and make sense of. She let the man finish his babble, before she would let herself answer him but were cut off by his next statement out of the blue.

''Daughter...?'' she repeated silently for herself, and zoned out with her gaze into the nothing in front of him. He could not be, right? No, he was too young to be! The man could have been trapped in another dimension of this incomprehensive dream or whatever it now was. Dreams could switch, and you could have a lot of different ones in one night. Yes, that would be it. But if they were home, where was...? She snapped out of her thoughts and raised her gaze again at the man.

''Judging by the holo-advertisements...'' she begun and looked around once, a few discreet signs and holo-advertisements further down the road gave away hints of where they was. ''I think we're on Denon...'' she supposed and looked at him once more.

Things realy felt crazy, and there was not less questions raised when the man seemed to know her from somewhere. Her eyes dilated slightly because of the confusion and surprise. She tried to figure out if she had the same recognition of the man as he had of her, but it stood still.

''Me? No... I don't think so... Why would you think that?'' she said, curious of from where and why the man recognized her.

 

[Cassus Akovin]

OBJECTIVE 1: PAPER FLOWERS
LOCATION: THE MIND-IS-BREAKING-NAR-SHADDAA
THE AFFLICTED: Daiya , Toph Graystone , Chloe Santhe , Gray Venasir , Rika , Ursula Vizla , Siala Vash
THE ABLE-BODIED: Malicar , Mir Nehrahn , Ruby Jaxx , anyone else I missed

"Tylo? What happened to you?!" Cassus looked at her, and then at himself, then back to her.

"Tylo? I don't- Daiya, why haven't you aged?" Something strange was afoot and he looked to his mother for assurance, who suddenly wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"No, no, no, NO!" Daiya began to unravel.

"Mom?" More frantically now, Cassus looked around the street. Although he didn't notice it, he didn't see Toph either.

"Daiya, what's wrong?" A boy he didn't recognize asked her.

"Everything!" For once the younger girl was making sense.

"Mom?!" He shouted again, his voice feeling decidedly smaller as if the world was growing larger around him. He was beginning to feel dizzy, and the familiar streets of Denon were becoming less and less familiar to him as if he never recognized them in the first place. He started to notice that there weren't any other people around. There wasn't anything around them. He looked back towards Daiya and only just realized now she was talking to herself, he couldn't recognize the boy because he had no face... he didn't have a body. He was nothing.

Then Cassus began to remember.

"Oh no." He looked to Daiya again but this time, the whole world was different, and she was gone.

Waking with a start, Cassus found himself panting and breathing heavily in a bed that was not his own, and what he had originally thought was a hospital... was just someone's home. His mask was off, and he was de-armored, his body drenched with sweat. He looked around frantically knowing what was going on, but his body was still confused.

"MOM?!" He shrieked, his voice a bit shrill. Suddenly, an alien walked through the door he didn't recognize - a woman, he thought - saying something he couldn't quite recognize. It didn't sound like a different language, but somehow his brain just wasn't recognizing what she was saying. "Mom?" He said much quieter, almost out of instinct, his eyes unfocused, feeling the pull at the back of his head again. "Wait no, no not yet." He shook his head, feeling his lucidity slipping.

"I don't know what you're saying, but please, tell them to get-" Cassus almost lost the battle against his consciousness, the alien woman looking concerned or confused, with a moist-looking towel in her hand being raised. He bated it away to feel some control of his body, and prevent her from putting pressure on his heavy head, at risk of falling back into the dream of Paper Flowers.

"Tell Darkwire to get to the Atmosphere Control Unit, something-"

​

Suddenly, Cassus found himself in a bar, sitting in a seat across from some old guy. Despite never being in this place before, somehow the smell of it seemed somewhat familiar. Being a well-traveled child, his mother had dragged him along across dozens of planets in regular intervals to restock on supplies, and the worst smelling one had always been Nar Shaddaa. Little bits of false memories peppered his consciousness, and quickly he was sure of it.

"I will say I am impressed, you remembered rather quickly for one your age, but I think that maybe has more to do with your mother than you." The strange bald man said, wearing dark shaded glasses indoors and drinking something very tropical looking.

"My mom-?" Cassus started before the man raised a finger to silence him.

"Not really here, and she doesn't interest me. Just make sure they," His upraised finger pointed over to Rika , Siala Vash, and the others in the bar. "Start to remember too."

 

[Ruby Jaxx]

OBJECTIVE 2: RAMPANT CHAOS ( Mir Nehrahn , Malicar )
On location w/ catatonic Cassus Akovin

Ruby followed the boy through the twisted maze of alleyways... no idea where she was being taken. But she figured it was better than nothing. She had images in her head, he'd take her to some heavily guarded building – she'd have to bust down the door and shoot her way to the controls. And she might die, but she'd go down in a hail of glorious blaster fire.

Nope. That's definitely not what happened.

She found herself at the stoop of a townhouse, a normal... unremarkable dwelling. “What's this place?” Ruby asked, eyes narrowing skeptically. Kark. Had she let this kid lead her on some kind of wild bantha chase? She was about to turn to stalk off again, but he grabbed hold of her sleeve.

Turning, he gave a quiet knock on the door.

An alien woman cracked the door and ushered the pair inside. It was safe to say that Ruby was way confused. The lady brought them silently down the hall and paused outside a room, she motioned for Ruby to go in.

Peeking inside, she saw a man passed out on the bed—it looked like he was passed out or maybe... dead. But as she squinted, she could see that he was still breathing. Okay, not dead. His eyes were rolling beneath his lids, and he murmured quietly in his sleep.

“Darkwire,” the woman said. “He said to tell Darkwire... to get to the Atmosphere Control Unit.”

Ruby nodded. Strange. Her eyes shifted to the kid, maybe she'd underestimated him... he obviously knew more than he let on. But like any good shadow, he was careful about what he said. Well, if this guy was a Darkwire agent... she guessed that the others might well be in the same position.

She pulled out her data-pad and drafted a quick secure message to any Darkwire agents, hopefully someone smart (like Mir Nehrahn) would pick it up. “Atmosphere Control Unit,” was all it said... but she figured the geniuses would know what to do.

 

[Siala Vash]

Objective: Paper Flowers ( Cassus Akovin | Daiya | Toph Graystone | Chloe Santhe | Gray Venasir | Brie Jaxx )
Location: ??? (Bar on Nar Shaddaa)
With: Rika

Sia felt a measure of relief when the disoriented man went along with her ruse and even played along. She forced a sultry smile when the dark-haired man put his arm around her and escorted her towards the door. Listening, she noted that he'd just been...somewhere else, too.

“Yeah... I'm not sure where exactly I...was, but it wasn't Nar Shaddaa,” she said, thinking back to the lavish bedroom. And when the man reached out to push the door, she started to answer, “I'm Vash --” but the stern voice of a woman interrupted her.

She side-eyed the man that the older woman had just called Jorj. It was all strange... was it a dream? But no, Jorj—if that was his name-- seemed to be seeing it all too. Then, the blurry lady asked if Sia was his girlfriend.. a remark that almost made Sia laugh, had it not been for the comment that followed.

Oh boy.

Drawn to the table, she moved to have a seat at the place that had been made for her... but as she sat, she must have missed the chair. Siala hit the ground hard, flat on her back. She squeezed her eyes closed at the sudden pain in her head.

And when she opened her eyes again, she was no longer in the little cabin. But back in the tavern. This time, she was sprawled out on the dirty floor.

“Jorj?” she whispered, unsure if he was there... unsure if he'd even been there at all.

 

[Xandyr]

Mir Nehrahn Ruby Jaxx
Objective 2

Xandyr wished he was dancing. As he moved through the street he suddenly veered sideways and crashed through a shop window. When the noise had stopped he remained almost still. Glass crunched beneath him as he shifted his weight and groaned.

He didn't know what the nanovirus had done when it breached the seals of his suit but it did not agree with him. It kept trying to pull him under. His sense of up and down shifted along with the rest of his perceptions. It interfered with the connection to his cybernetic arm as well. That was a heavy weight at his side.

His datapad buzzed. It was, of course, in his right pocket. With a groan and a hiss of crushed glass he reached for it.

"Atmospheric control unit?" he sighed. No one heard him. They were all in their virtual reality.

 

[Rika]

Location: Jorj doesn't karkin' know anymore
Objective: Paper Flowers
In the Vicinity: Siala Vash | Cassus Akovin
Somewhere Else in VR: Daiya | Toph Graystone | Chloe Santhe | Gray Venasir | Brie Jaxx | Ursula Vizla + anyone else joining

Before Jorj even had a chance to sit in his seat at the dinner table a voice from behind him drew his attention away from his mother and sister and the blurry-faced something occupying the chair that should have belonged to... to whom? There was no one else. Even more confusing, what could this other voice be? Jorj didn't have friends, who else would come to family dinner? Why didn't he have friends again?

As the young Leporine man turned his perspective seemed to slip. His surroundings morphed and stretched and tore and he found himself dizzy trying to keep his eyes open. But when he finally faced the voice he had heard, he was once again back in the strange bar that he had crash landed in before. He felt like he was being pulled in different directions and none of them felt completely whole. He didn't feel completely whole. He had been so happy such a short time ago. Why was he so unhappy now? What had changed? Why did it seem like nothing had changed?

"How...," was about all he could manage by the time he felt like he had his bearings again.

Jorj hadn't really heard what the voice had said. But he could clearly see two people that had not been in the bar before he and Vash (did he hear her name right?) had exited. One a helmeted being, the other an old, bald man with dark glasses. They seemed like they were locked in a tense conversation but they weren't really talking. The man with the shades was pointing at Jorj. The Leporine's eyebrow arched but before he could say anything, he heard someone tumble to the floor behind him.

He turned, slowly to try and avoid worsening his splitting headache. Vash was on the floor, just as dazed as Jorj had been when he had fell. "Here," he said, responding to the woman. He reached down and picked her up and held the woman steady until he was sure she could stand up on her own. Then he turned back to the two at the bar. "What is going on here?"

The other people in the bar seemed to disregard all four of them, as if they weren't even there. "I'm helping," the man in the glasses said quite simply, as if he deserved praised for his actions. But Jorj couldn't piece together what the man could possibly be doing that was helpful. Before he had a chance to ask what the old man meant, other people started spontaneously appearing out of thin air in different parts of the cantina. "See? Helping."