Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos

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Private So Uncivilized

Gee, thanks.” She snorted. To him it probably sounded like she was stating the obvious, but she did have a small point to make. “I wouldn’t allow myself to think that way at first. Didn’t want to be presumptuous. I wanted her, though. I was hoping… I mean, it felt like the stars aligned when she came into our lives.

Before he could ask what she meant by that, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.

 
Cato listened with a sympathetic frown. He wondered how Inanna had processed the sudden inclusion of Serena into their lives. She had been a great mother to her, no doubt, but he couldn't imagine some of the internal struggle she might have dealt with in those early days, raising a child that technically wasn't hers. But she stepped up, and to an extent, latched onto her sooner than Cato had.

The last thing she said made him open his mouth to respond, before she closed the distance in a kiss. Cato rolled with it, seizing her arm and pulling her in deeply to the amorous exchange. Maybe Serena had just done a good job sabotaging their love life lately, but it excited him more than he cared to admit. But when he pulled away, it was replaced by curiosity again, "That's an… interesting way of putting it," In the long run, he wouldn't change a thing; Serena was his daughter, and the most precious part of his life. But it would be a lie to say things weren't quite hectic initially, "What makes you say that?"

 
Inanna had gotten on top of Cato when he started asking questions. She tossed her head back and heaved a sigh. They always wound up having these conversations at the most inopportune times…

This in particular was a discussion she had dreaded having, putting it off and making up excuses not to talk about it. But she knew it was inevitable. So she shifted her weight to her elbows and knees and searched his face, trying to figure out what to say.

I’m pretty sure I can’t have kids of my own,” she finally said. “At least, not naturally. I was warned it would happen, but… it’s complicated. Hal and I tried, it didn’t work, so we adopted.” She closed her eyes for a moment, as if pausing to gather her thoughts, or to shut the door on the loaded memories of her past. When she opened them again, they were glassy. “I’m sorry if I made you think otherwise, gave you hopes or dreams that I can't fulfill. Part of me is still hoping for a miracle. But if Serena is the closest I’m going to get, that’s alright with me.

 
Cato's question elicited more of a reaction than he was expecting. He pushed himself up with his hands behind him to be closer to her, studying her eyes for a betrayal of emotion.

I’m pretty sure I can’t have kids of my own,

His lips parted slightly, for a response that didn't come. He had no proper reaction for it, not at first. "Inanna…" Cato sat up further and wrapped his arms around her waist, into a hug, "I'm sorry…" She evidently enjoyed being a mother. So to have the possibility of raising her own supposedly stripped away entirely was tragically unfair. Serena was a gift, but if what she said stayed true, then any chance of future biological children was out of the question.

Cato held Inanna like that for a bit longer, before he spoke again, "Don't apologize. That's not... on you," He looked up at her, mustering a sad smile that quickly faltered, "Is that why your mother… she said…?" He trailed off.

Well, I hope that you have better luck this time,

He hardly thought anything of it at the time.

 
He seemed stunned at first, unable to speak or even to move. Inanna waited, watching his tawny eyes, wondering if he would be upset or angry. Would he begin to grieve for a lost future? Or would he simply pity her?

Then she was in his arms, and he in hers. For a while they just stayed that way without speaking. Despite what he said, the apology was necessary; she tried to remember what exactly she’d said to him as they were leaving Bonadan, but the memory was a blur. She could only recall that she had led him to believe he would be helping her repopulate someday. Like so many of her other blunders, she’d done it for the sake of a joke.

"Is that why your mother… she said…?"

My mother doesn’t understand everything,” Inanna muttered. Growing pensive, she ran her fingers through Cato’s raven hair. “On the first day of my Sith training under Vanessa Vantai, she poisoned me. It was one of her methods of control. The poison festered in me, affected my mind, made me quicker to anger. Among other things…

“After I escaped her, I went searching for an antidote. Everyone I met told me it was a lost cause.
” When they didn’t try to lure her with promises that they would try to help, just so that they could have a chance to experiment with alchemy on a Shi’ido, that is.

She pulled the Star from beneath her shirt, running her thumb over the gemstone. “There was a man on Atrisia who offered me this. He told me it would purge the poison, but that I would be changed. I’d never get sick or feel the effects of any poison ever again. I’d be able to survive injuries that would kill anyone else. Maybe I would even live forever… and I’d never be able to have children.” Hastily, she tucked the pendant away again, out of sight. “Back then, I couldn’t even think that far ahead. I just wanted to be cured.

Everything had hinged on her being washed clean of that last remnant of her past. One last baptism in fire, then she would be pure and good. Worthy to be Hal’s wife, worthy to be crowned with snow white hair. Worthy to live again.

So there you have it. I should’ve told you earlier.” She chanced a small smile. “Now you know why I told you to let me worry about protection. It wasn’t just because of your irresponsibility. I didn’t want you to waste your money.

 
Cato listened with a scowl as Inanna recounted her days being manipulated by the SIth. He hadn't realized the extent of their exploitation until now, and seeing what it cost only multiplied his anger, "There's really no fix?" He wanted to believe otherwise, but it's not like that belief was founded on any proof.

Cato managed a soft chuckle anyway, "Tch. Gee, thanks," He grinned wryly when she directly mentioned his occasionally faltering responsibility. On the bright side, saving a few extra dollars was always welcome. And they still had their daughter.

"Well… Guess me being a reckless playboy sometimes has its payoffs," Cato pulled her a bit closer, then continued more genuinely, "If nothing else… I'm glad we have Serena. And it's gonna take a lot more than all that to mess up what we got."

 
You’re a Jedi. You know the story of Ulic Qel-Droma? A Sith poisoned him with some strange concoction, and he went mad from it. Fell to the Dark Side, went on a rampage. In the end his lover had to cut him off from the Force forever. I suppose that cured him, but he wept and mourned its loss for the rest of his life.” Not an ideal solution.

Her smile broadened at his laughter. “Sometimes,” she agreed, leaning toward him to whisper against his lips, trying to recapture the excitement she had felt from him earlier. “You know, they say the best way to transmit body heat is through bare skin contact...

 
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Cato grimaced, “Well, ideally let’s take cues from different parts of history going forward, hm?” Learning from their outcomes was much better than repeating them. Regardless, any hypothetical solutions were just that: hypothetical. And right now, there were bigger things on the horizon. A conversation for another time.

“Do they now…?” He grinned, their breaths now intermingling so close together, “Let’s test that theory,” Cato switched places with Inanna, and leaned down to give her a kiss…

 
Taking hold of his wrists, she stopped him from pulling her down beneath him. “They also say that heat rises, so I’m staying up here,” she said, drawing his lower lip between hers in a feverish kiss.

Later, when the last bits of tension had ebbed away and she was able to fall asleep at last… something woke her up. It was the middle of the night, with all the quiet stillness of the early morning hours, and yet she could feel that something was wrong. They weren’t alone.

Opening her eyes, she lifted her head from Cato’s chest so she could listen for something other than his heartbeat. At first she heard only the wind blowing. Then there was another sound, like footfalls across shifting sand, but the walk was heavier than a human’s—and she suspected there were more than two feet. Yes, that was it! The sound reminded her of a horse or a deer, some creature with four legs and hooves.

It began to circle around the tent, keeping its distance, but clearly checking them out. If Cato hadn’t already awoken, he probably would when Inanna suddenly rose off of him, taking her body’s warmth with her. Crouching, she crept toward the tent’s opening, peering between the flaps into the desert twilight beyond, her lightsaber hilt clutched tightly in her hand.

 
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Likewise, exercise was a good way to raise one’s body temperature, so by the time surprisingly restful slumber took Cato, the cold hardly bothered him.

Unfortunately, said slumber was short-lived. He could tell even as he was stirred awake, groggy and only just reconstructing a sense of his surroundings. “Hey-” Cato muttered, barely audible, then immediately cut himself off as he acknowledged the tension of the moment. Inanna was up by the tent flaps, and there was a sound outside.

He took the hilt of his saber in one hand, and his blaster in the other, creeping up beside her. A quizzical look was all he could exchange to avoid ousting them both right away.

 
Sure enough, a groggy but well-armed Cato crept up beside her. Inanna moved slightly to allow him a better vantage point over her shoulder.

The sound of hooves grew steadily louder, until a figure came into view. In the darkness she could just barely tell it was indeed a horse-like creature, although with a very long tail and a more humanoid upper body. She was vaguely reminded of the centaur-like Chironians.

Inanna went very still, almost subconsciously blending in with her surroundings as she watched the creature. Its movements were slow and cautious, filled with frequent pauses, as if it knew it was being watched. But it evidently didn’t realize who was watching it, because it kept getting closer to the tent.

Glancing toward Cato, Inanna leaned over to whisper in his ear. "I'm going to try and scare it off." Then she leaped outside, igniting her lightsaber.

The creature jolted, emitting a high-pitched shriek of alarm. By the yellow glow of her blade, she could see it much more clearly. Alas, she didn’t have much time to study it as something struck the ground in front of her. The creature’s long tail—which had a sharp blade on the end of it, she noticed with some consternation—lashed toward her. It was too precise to be anything other than warning strikes, trying to keep her away from it, so she simply held her ground, hoping it would get the message.

Sure enough, the attack was short-lived. But rather than fleeing, the creature collapsed, its equine legs folding beneath it and its fur darkening in color until it was almost black. Alien as it was, she could still get a read on its emotions in the Force. This was a sentient being, exhausted and terrified, but also in awe of... what, her? Or her lightsaber? She wasn't sure.

 
It took a moment for what Inanna said to properly register, but when it did, "W-wait-!" He stumbled out behind her, raising the hilt of his saber but never actually igniting it, as the initial reaction ended without any actual danger.

"The hell?" He muttered, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as the creature slumped down and he got a better look at it, "Is this uh… one of the locals?"

 
Yeah,” Inanna replied, her eyes fixed on the creature. “Got to be. Looks like a Zaathri. According to what I read, they’re supposed to be the least aggressive sentient species on this fething hellworld…” Considering that she was naked, cold, and had been rudely awoken in the middle of the night by the creature, she was understandably a bit snippy.

Lying prostrate on the ground, it continued to make soft, beseeching noises, speaking a tonal language of some sort. Inanna could only comprehend its vulnerable emotional state, not the actual meaning of what it was saying. “Cato, isn’t there a Jedi power that allows you to understand other languages?” she asked. “‘Comprehend Speech’ or something?

Telepathy was also an option, although she didn’t want to keep terrorizing their unwanted guest. Something about its abrupt and complete submission to them was already making her uncomfortable enough.

 
“Oh,” Cato said dryly, “That’s… good?” Least aggressive was not, in and of itself, a title that inspired much confidence.

That aside, this one in particular hardly seemed a threat. It’s mewling and cowering was pitiful, more than anything. And given the circumstances, much more awkward than if it had just done them all a favor and run off. Cato shrugged, “Sure, but, it doesn’t exactly mean I can speak back to them…” He shut his eyes for a moment in concentration, anyway. Getting a clearer insight on what this creature was thinking and saying would be helpful even without a way to speak back.

 
It’s better than nothing.

As Cato concentrated, the whistling vocalizations of the Zaathri gradually resolved into something more comprehensible.

...I throw myself upon your mercy. If you be gods worthy of worship, protect me! Don’t let me be taken into bondage again!

What’s he saying?” Inanna asked. She was beginning to pick up other sounds in the desert, distant for now, but growing steadily louder.

 
"Aw— jeez…" Cato sneered, shaking his head, "I'm too naked for this shit," He leaned back into the tent for a moment to grab his pants, leaving Inanna in the dark for a few moments longer before he answered properly.

"He uh, seems to think we're some kind of... deities…" Cato sighed as he adjusted the waistband, "Oh- and uh, wants us to save him from 'bondage'." His gaze then wandered to the desert surrounding them, anticipating something else heading their way, "We're probably not alone."

 
"Toss me my clothes while you're at it, handsome," Inanna said, whistling. The cowering Zaathri inclined its head, looking confused. "Oh sorry, that wasn't directed at you." Hopefully she hadn't just insulted it in its language.

As Cato translated, Inanna's eyes widened. "Slavery?" she whispered, as if it were a dirty word.

The distant sounds were clearer now. Hoofbeats pounding across the desert. It wasn't hard to put things together. An escaped slave, being chased by their enslavers, willing to cling to any hope in their desperation, including an impromptu encounter with a pair of deities that might help them escape. At least, that's what she thought was going on here.

Their pursuers were getting close. "Can we help?" she asked Cato, even as she began to usher the Zaathri toward their tent to hide them.

 
Handsome did as requested, handing a bundle of clothes to Inanna once he stepped back out. Indeed, the mention of bondage seemed to leave room for little other interpretation given the context. A shame that slavery seemed to be one of the more universal concepts in the galaxy, but hardly surprising at this point, "Sure seems that way," Cato sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Distant sounds were becoming less distant. Time was short. Not that they had a whole lot of options at their disposal for running or hiding. Cato walked around behind the creature, "We can certainly try," He awkwardly tried to help get the Zaathri onto their feet, pushing them in the direction of the tent, "C'mon! Let's not make this any more complicated than it needs to be!"

 
Inanna hurriedly put on the clothes Cato handed her, her brow suddenly furrowing. “...What else did you think they meant by ‘bondage’?

At first, the Zaathri jerked away from any attempts at touching it, evidently still terrified of the "gods". But with a little more nudging, it seemed to understand and finally ducked into their tent.

Inanna turned to Cato, trying to come up with a plan. “Should we play along with the whole gods thing, try to scare them off? I mean, we can’t just kill them all…” She really, really didn't like slavers, but she also didn't think it was a good idea to massacre a bunch of natives on a planet like this.

 
Cato just shrugged, having not particularly thought anything else of the word, and now more focused on getting them all hidden. It was a bit of an awkward push, but eventually their impromptu acolyte got the hint, and snuck into the tent. Cato sealed it up, and hunched down, grabbing his saber and his blaster just in case.

"We can certainly try," He said, not seeing many other options available at the moment. Similarly, he found the thought of slaughtering a bunch of natives, slavers though they may be, to not really work out as a good idea. Sounds drew nearer, and soon shadows cast on the walls of the tent. Shifting silhouettes of alien figures. Cato fell dead quiet, and waited. Maybe they'd be too ignorant to think anything more of the tent? Probably just wishful thinking.

 

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