Private See you later Space Cowboy

[Rygen storyteller]

Astronomical twilight. That strange haze of neither daylight, nor darkness. There was something about it that brought a feeling of hope and sadness. An ambivalence of possibilities and endings. It was the strangest thing, that was neither all of one thing, or all of another. As the sun threatened to end the night's domain, one could almost be filled with a sense of desiderium and dread. It was emptiness. It was everything, and at the same time, it was nothing, a hollow promise not yet dashed, fresh off the speaker's lips.

As the first bits of ephemeral light broke over Lorrd, that stillness hung in the air, mixing with the desert planet's dryness. Two figures stood in the middle of it, cloaked in drab robes, otherwise, their figures were hidden by the shadows.

"Are you sure she's the one?" the first asked, breaking the silence.

The other nodded, their gesture emphatic as their slightly melodious but still mechanical voice replied, "Positive."

"And you are sure we cannot do this without her?"

"I am sure he cannot do this without her," came the robotic voice, steeled with certainty. "I am sure he won't do this without her."

"What of the others? His family? His business partners? What about them? Don't they play a part in all of this?"

The mechanical one was silent for quite some time before giving a low, certain reply, "My algorithms are flawless."

The other gave a grunt. "Algorithms can't count on emotion."

"Emotion is expressed through past action," came the clipped reply with an undercurrent of impatience.

"If you say so." A slight breeze brushed by them, stirring up the top layer of sand from the sea of it that surrounded them. "God I hate deserts."

"The sooner you complete your task, the sooner we can leave," the mechanical voice said before turning and marching to the tent back in the desert.

The one with the mechanical voice disappeared in the tent. The other sighed and gave one last look back to the tent before adjusting the backpack on his shoulders making his quest forward. The sun crested at his back as he came to a homestead in the middle of the desert.

Seo Linn

 

[Seo Linn]

If there was one place in the Galaxy that Seo called home, it would be Lorrd. It was where her family lived, where she grew up, and where she returned whenever she could. The Sith Empire had collapsed like they always seem to do and her world was once again free from their influence. She had not been present when the New Imperial Order had moved in but from what she could tell, they ruled with strong but fair control.

At one point, she would have been concerned about her son but he had ended up turning into a rather good, young man. Once in a while, he would still be a typical teenager but Aodhan had learned there were proper times to fall in line and when to rebel. More likely caused by the guiding hand of her parents and not Seo herself.

Laughing slightly, she was home and did not need to remain stoic here. Allowing her little sisters to bowl her over, she grabbed one of them and started tickling her. Quickly letting her go, the Force spoke to the Knight and she stood up.

Turning to look at her family, she sighed a little.

"Stay here. I need to investigate something."

Pulling her scarf up to cover her mouth and nose, she went out through the front door. On her belt was clipped her lightsaber but she made no move for it. Whatever she sensed, she did not think was going to try and harm her...or her family. Yet, she knew better than to take that chance.

Meeting the incoming droid before it could reach her parent's house, she stopped before it could touch her.

"What do you want droid? What is your business here?"

Breathing calmly, the Force surrounded Seo and she waited to hear what it had to say.

Rygen storyteller

 

[Rygen storyteller]

The mechanical one raised its hood just enough to reveal a pair of shimmer eyes, that just hinted at green. tresses of golden hair could be seen framing the shadow of the mostly hidden percaline face and the figure's delicate lips which shimmered at a hint of gold against the backdrop of otherwise perfect pale skin. It was either a cyborg, or some Human Replica close enough to make one pause and question what exactly constituted a living creature, what constituted consciousness. For some, it would have been enough to trigger the Hidden Valley fear that lay dormant in most species. They were the only features visible in a sea of black cloth, black void, and otherwise non-descript

The being paused, taking in Seo's frame, then her face, then her words. It was an uncomfortably long pause, the pause of someone or something that desperately couldn't afford to get it wrong.

"I am here for you, Seo Linn " it said, the voice taking a melodic tone that wavered between chilling emotionlessness and beneficence with an undercurrent that it was stating what had to be very clear.

It was highly unlikely she would find the fact that a stranger could show up at her door and know her name, all the same, it gave her time enough to take that in before proceeding, "I have a matter of delicateness to speak with you. Someone," it paused, trying to find the right words. Even with the vast expanse around them of nothing but sand, sand sand, and endless sand, she couldn't be too careful. The galaxy had become a dangerous place. It didn't believe that Seo would harbor a double agent, either knowingly or unknowingly, but there were eyes and ears everywhere. Someone could burry a bug in the sand. Someone could be watching and listening fron the ridge 2 kilometers away. A drone could be overhead, too small to see but still dropping in on them. "Someone close to you is in gave danger. Someone who we--I--believe's passing would bring you great pain."

 

[Seo Linn]

Not sensing any life in the figure in front of her, Seo knew she was dealing with a droid of some kind. Possibly a cyborg even, but without the life, she doubted that. Listening closely to what was said, the pause was odd. She did not feel it was here to harm her though and so she made no move for her weapon. Even when it said it was here for her.

This was her home and she was comfortable here. While she was talking with a strange thing, she allowed herself to show some of what she was feeling. At first, a bit of confusion crossed her face. There were only two people outside of her family she had gotten close to.

One of them had made it clear he had lost interest in her. They had stopped communicating and just drifted apart naturally. It happened and the Knight accepted this. That could only mean James. The man that was the father to their son. One who had come into her life and saved it, somebody she wanted nothing more than to be with. Her true love...if there were such a thing.

"Where is he?"

Just three words were spoken. Depending on the answer given, she would either follow the droid or return to her family and tell them about what was happening.

Rygen storyteller

 

[Rygen storyteller]

It was glad that it didn't have to go into detail. It was ready to find a few more hints to try and drop that the algorithmic section of its processor had to offer that someone in the know would understand. It was hard to become that adept at machine learning but it was amazing what a dedicated genius could do with a computer and a lifetime of preparedness to the cause.

Where is he?

Its delicate lips pursed as the question hung in the air. It was a feign of emotion; Not overdone and loud like some of the more cliche relica bots out there, not stoic and unfeeling like some of the droids with a nice layer of synthskin placed over their metal frames. No, it was a subtle gesture that was terrifyingly enough close to human caused by several micro servos placed along the lips and mouth hard-coded to respond to very specific stimuli to elicit a more human and natural reaction.

"That's the problem." It said at last, the melodic voice was a mix of lightness, despite the fact that the fact that not knowing where the hell someone like him was in a galaxy like this was a dangerous foreboding, and careful precision. "That information is unknown."

It paused, letting that sink in, its implication, and how Seo Linn fit in from there. "However, there is knowledge about where he was last."

 

[Seo Linn]

It took Seo only a moment to make her decision. Moving closer to the droid, everything she needed she already had on her body. Any clothes or supplies could be picked up later. Giving no hint of her emotional state, she was quiet until she was close enough to touch the droid.

"Tell me what you know, droid."

No identification had been given to the Knight so she addressed the being simply. Not thinking it was rude or anything, she waited for an answer to be provided.

She was an investigator. Hopefully, the information at hand would be enough to locate her love.

Rygen storyteller

 

[Rygen storyteller]

The mechanical being nodded its head, slightly, but just enough to be perceptible. Its eyes glittered from the darkness of its hood in recognition. It was as good a hope as any that this woman could pick up the trail where they had left off. It was amazing how details like who are you? And Who are you with? and why does this bother you? All could vanish when it really mattered. Necessity and love did make strange allies of us all.

A mechanical hand moved from behind the robe, producing a small quartz crystal skull. On the very bottom was a data-port interface. It fit in the palm of her hand, and aside from the four eye holes, it would have otherwise perfectly matched a base-line human skull.

"The full details will be here," it said, the voice barely over a fully-articulate and mechanical whisper, "He was last seen on Makatak, speaking with some of the local tribes, with their mystics. About what--is, unknown." the mechanic paused, hesitating and wavering for a moment on whether or not to give the next piece of information to Seo Linn .

"He left his ship there. Abandoned it on the landing platform."

 

[Seo Linn]

Accepting the skull from the droid, the Knight listened to the rest of the information provided. She would have to travel to Makatak and see if she could question the natives.

"Is his ship there now?"

Showing a sliver of true emotion, Seo lifted an eyebrow to indicate her interest. These droids might look human but they weren't fully able to emulate a human.

"What is your connection to him?"

Rygen storyteller