That Escalated Quickly (Invite)

[Amnell de Portiers]

It was a fact, she was not aware of. And probably a good thing Amnell was not. As trusting Anja, was not high on her list of trustworthy people. Not at all. Granted Anja could easily raise her number on that list simply by talking to her, and revealing a few things. Though she supposed trust was in fact a two way street. Somethings were going to take time, if, and it was a big if, she allowed things to progress for that long without an attempt at escape. At least not until the guards spread out.

Oh, boy. Seriously keeps getting better and better. Where's Gahala now? Cause I swear it's going to be one of those days.

If anything Amnell just seemed confused as things happened around her. So far, everything had appeared to be normal to her. Though there was an undercurrent of danger to the situation. One that Amnell could not push away. Whether that came from trigger happy guards or something in the station, she wasn't sure. Either way, she gave a small nod and hurried along as best she could behind Anja. "Didn't plan on doing anything else." That was the absolute truth. Until she knew more on the situation and had a little bit figured out, the girl couldn't risk wandering away from the only real protection she had for the time being.

The brunette sighed, and followed along without further words as Nine raced along beside her. A gentle hand she laid on his dome, more for her own comfort than anything. He after all had been something of a security blanket for her thus far in her life. It was becoming rather clear she just might have to trust her captor to keep her alive if poodoo hit the fan.

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

 

[Boethiah]

Their journey was far from over. The amount of time it would take for their engineers to figure out exactly what was wrong with the ship could be anywhere from a few hours to weeks. That was partially why Anja was not happy but to an outside viewer she seemed unusually cautious. Furthermore she was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable in the bleeding sun robes, which revealed some of her figure and chaffed against her skin. Of course the former bit was probably not too much of a concern considering the earlier events in the room.

Then it happened... Snap. It was the sound of someone breaking something. Anja's eyes shifted towards the source of the noise quite suddenly as her feet stopped. In hindsight she should've considered bringing a weapon but was in such a hurry that she hadn't.

Whatever was lurking in the room where the noise source came from did not immediately reveal itself and Anja's preference for sheer independence meant that there were no guards around to defend them but of course the Host Lord had proved before that she didn't need a blade or blaster to do damage.

[member="Amnell de Portiers"]

 

[Amnell de Portiers]

That sense of danger kept growing as they moved on together. Something that truly made her uncomfortable. A part of her wishing she'd carried some sort of weapon beyond Nine. And Nine she knew, was limited in his skillset. Better weapons, something more than tools and upgraded plating were desperately needed if that was to ever be a reality. Never before had that been a need, or a want. She worked in a simple shop, on a good planet, in a good section of town. This kind of thing had never been an issue until Anja walked in.

At the noise, Amnell jumped and Nine firmly glued himself to her side. Instantly the girl took a couple steps back, wanting nothing more than to retreat and hide. That had been her usual tactic during trouble. Hide. That seemed smart, right? Not really no. She knew that. But that was really all she had. In fight or flight, she was definitely more flight given her response. Though the curious side made her wonder what the hell made the noise and what level of threat it actually was. I swear to gods if its a cat .... Not a thought she was going to finish. Not as she took another couple of steps backwards, away from the noise.

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

 

[Boethiah]

Anja remained absolutely still, almost like a predator trying to figure out if whatever was stalking her was prey or foe. From inside the room no further noise was conducted and it remained absolutely silent, for all they knew it could've been caused by small fluctuations in the station's gravity generation due to the influence of the planet's gravity below, eventually pushing an object off of a table or shelf...But this was more of a snap rather than a crash, as if someone broke something in half or stepped on something.

Whatever rationale that could exist Anja finally gambled. "Let's move on, it was nothing." She looked to Amnell who took a few steps back. No further words were said but Anja's piercing eyes narrowed a bit as if to say, "Come or else."

[member="Amnell de Portiers"]

 

[Amnell de Portiers]

She couldn't help but feel out of place. This certainly was not the life she imagined ever being in. Nope, her life plan had always been incredibly simple knowing she had an expiration date much closer than the peers around her.

Sighing softly, she nodded to the woman. "If you say so." Cat, might as well have been. Frightened, worried for nothing. A thought grumbled to herself. The narrowing of the eyes, she caught. Truthfully felt like saying something along the lines of 'What did you expect? You might do this for a living, or your life, or whatever... But I sure as hell don't. I smell danger, I'm going to flee before someone gets all murdery. And you being so overly cautious isn't helping my nerves, thank you very much.' Fortunately Amnell chose not to voice such matters as she motioned for Nine to follow, not really wanting to risk angering the woman in any way as they started forward again.

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

 

[Boethiah]

She was only able to move a few steps before once again there was a noise. This time it seemed more brash, if not alert; the sound of objects being moved out of the way as something or someone maneuvered itself towards their general vicinity. As with anyone, Anja reacted by turning her head back towards the way they came -- the original source of the first noise. As with earlier too there was no sign of anyone other than them but when she went to continue again there was another snap. It was almost entirely identical which made her wonder if the sound was not something breaking but rather... Well, something else.

Anja couldn't ignore her curiosity or the situation at hand any further and went over to the secondary doorway that was only a few meters down from the first one they passed by. It was a big room and by the looks it was intended for a business of some sort, having two doorways for a greater flow of traffic. Slowly she crept towards the door and as it slid open she placed her hand on the frame and peeked in. There was nothing, it was dark rather than lit which was a bit eerie if not convenient for whatever possibly lurked within and against a cliche in a HoloFilm horror, she turned back without investigating further.

Of course not everything could avoid the cliches. The moment she turned to leave a loud scream screeched as a humanoid figure rushed out to tackle the Host Lord. Anja was a force-sensitive and had much quicker reaction times than ordinary organics. Without even a processed thought she was able to side step the assailant and they smashed into the opposite wall, falling limp as their skull crushed itself against the surface due to the sheer speed of the lunge. At first glance they were pale, but with further look it was like their skin was slowly dying as the pigmentation cells vanished throughout except for a few patches. They weren't human, that's for sure, possibly some sort of alien race that was related to human origins--like Umbarans--but stout...

An Ugnaught!?

Anja was finally able to identify the species despite being in its twisted form.

[member="Amnell de Portiers"]

 

[Amnell de Portiers]

That same noise came again, and Amnell froze. Only inching forward after that, then the second noise. Something clearly was out there. Which quite frankly was making her want to turn back and go the other way. Curiosity be damned, Amnell didn't want to know. Not freaking at all. She glanced down to Nine, who chose this moment to offer no words of encouragement, no advice, just silence. Worthless droid. One more thought she kept to herself.

Hearing the loud scream, the girl couldn't help but shriek herself as whatever the hell it was raced forward. Anja sidestepping it, and it .... well it met it's fate with the wall. It's passing resonated through the Force to her, feeling it's death more than anything else. And for a moment, the girl just blinked a bit in disbelief before she slowly took a couple tentative steps forward.

"The feth is that thing?" She asked as she glanced down to it, not able to identify the species. Certainly wasn't anything she had ever encountered before today.

But Nine knew exactly, "Ugnaught."

"A what?" She blinked and glanced back to the R9 unit, wondering how the hell exactly he knew that. It wasn't programmed information that she had ever given him.

If a droid could sigh, the low longing whistle that Nine made in reply would have been considered that. So he decided to elaborate. "An Ugnaught is a porcine humanoid, with slightly upturned noses from the planet Gentes. Compared to baseline humans, their stature is considered short if not dwarfed. Need more information or are you satisfied now?"

"That's good enough, thank you." Her curiosity sated for the most part. "The hell is one of those doing in this place?" She wondered aloud.

"For, that I have no answer, Master."

"I wasn't asking you." The woman grumbled.

"But you did ask it." The glare she gave, hushed him up quickly enough.

"Don't think we should hang around here long. No telling what else is wandering about." She said quietly. Admittedly this incident had done nothing to ease her nerves. For now her sense of danger had lightened but it was by no means gone.

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

 

[Boethiah]

It was odd indeed... For one, the species was not known for their aggressiveness let alone any physical prowess. How ever indeed did such a stout little creature manage to lunge so viciously towards her was the question. Anja's eyes examined the Ugnaught further and concluded that at the very least it seemed to be inflicted with something. Symptoms seemed to include agitation and some kind of skin condition. The Host Lord was not a doctor, she didn't even know more than basic medical procedures that were used on the battlefield.

Anja then turned to the engineer, "Ask your droid if it can examine the creature further and figure out what caused this." Whatever concerns Anja had aboard the station earlier had vanished because this condition sounded similar to one they discovered in the Chiloon Rift aboard a mining facility that well... Had a gruesome experience.

[member="Amnell de Portiers"]

 

[Amnell de Portiers]

The droid, looked over to Anja and whistled his protest. "She's not my boss."

"Technically speaking she asked me, to ask you. Which means you do as you're asked before I make scrap of out of you." The express upon her face spoke volumes that she was in no way kidding on that matter. "So, do it." She demanded. The girl was not messing around. "Analyze it because I know you have the sensor pack to do it. I installed it after all."

"Fine, but you owe me."

"Yeah... yeah.... hot oil bath, I know." Grumbled but none the less it was something she'd do when she could.

"No skimping on the good oil this time."

"Wouldn't dream of it. You have a deal little tin man." She said with a sigh as the droid rolled forward towards the creator and did a quick scan and analysis.

"Call me tin man, one more time. I dare you."

"Not falling for that one. I know you too well."

Finally he pulled back and a series of beeps followed, speaking to Amnell first. "Hyperspace Madness." Yes, it had a name. "Skin deteriorated during exposure."

"Oh, please tell me you are joking. I thought that a myth." Her concern growing, for even she had not escaped the stories. "And since when do you know this?"

"Since always."

"But I wiped your memory several times."

"Clearly, not good enough."

"Clearly."

Then she looked up to speak to Anja. "He says skin deteriorated from exposure to hyperspace. Called it hyperspace madness." The thought was not something she wanted to deal with. Nasty business for sure.

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

 

[Boethiah]

A madness?

There it was again -- the term madness tossed at the end of everything. Well suited, though.

Anja's expression turned from possibly concerned to entirely neutral. Was she relaxed? Who knew but she did know this was the exact same thing Catalys encountered in the Chloon Rift. Yet the experience there was different, it was in a later stage if you could call it that. People had eaten each other, blew their brains out, and the lucky ones were able to take their own lives. This was not the case here, the attacker was clearly in a state of madness but they probably had just succumbed moments before the Host Lord had docked.

"Very well." She responded with that very simple statement.

Still, the was the issue of how there was such an anomaly here. For the Rift it made sense, the location as known for its bizarre circumstances.

[member="Amnell de Portiers"]

 

[Amnell de Portiers]

Given what Nine had just said, Amnell couldn't understand the ... what was it? Indifference, or just simply calmness of the woman.

"Remarkably calm. I expected more screaming, shouting and oh god, oh god we're all going to die. You sentients are strange."

"Us strange, really?" She paused a moment, thinking about it. "Hmmmm with present company... I'm inclined to agree." After all, the young woman did find Anja to be one of the strangest beings she'd ever met. And certainly one of the most frustrating.

"I wasn't talking about her."

Amnell spun on her heels in a heartbeat, reaching over to smack the droid on it's dome. "Oh come the feth on! I'm not that weird. Seriously need to adjust your programming." She grumbled, clearly annoyed with the walking tin man as she shook her hand off from the sudden pain she'd received for such an action. Some things, were just not worth it.

"Go ahead, I dare you. You can only improve upon me. And was that supposed to hurt? Cause I bet it hurt you more." The brunette's eyes just narrowed at the droid. Certainly he'd gotten under her skin in the last few moments. Nine, did have a point, even if she wasn't about to concede it then and there. And for a moment she bit at her lip, wondering if a response was worth it.

"Nexu got your tongue?"

"Oh for the love of god, shut it." Shaking her head, she sighed heavily. Reaching up she pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to push away some of her anxiety and irritation with the droid. This clearly was not a good day. "So, what now?" She just had to ask. Truth be told, Amnell wasn't sure she wanted the answer to that. "Seems rather a strange place for such a phenomena to happen."

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

 

[Boethiah]

If this was happening on Telos Station then things were more dangerous than initially thought. Whatever Anja was worried about previously seems to no longer be of concern to the Host Lord anymore. Why should it be? A crazed little creature jumped out of nowhere and tried to attack the Host Lord.

There were always bigger concerns and no amount of investigation was going to fix this. This was beyond what was normal for the galaxy.

"We move on." It was a rather plain answer with little to go off of but what else could they do? If something was happening then it was; there's no use trying to stop it.

If the young woman with her was going to complain, get worried, or be scared then Anja would have none of it. Their goal for now was to wait for their starship to be repaired so they could move on and continue traveling towards Dubrillion. As much as Telos Station was not the destination either of them chose, it was still a lot better than many in the galaxy. They could've stopped off over the ice world of Helska where the dark refueling stations were cold and lifeless.

[member="Amnell de Portiers"]

 

[Amnell de Portiers]

Amnell reaching up, brushing a few stray strands of hair back from her face. Anxiety was quickly welling up within her, and really there was little she could do about anything that was happening now. Her mind did vainly attempt to try and piece the puzzle together, but nothing was quite fitting together. This simply made no sense.

"Okay," The young woman managed to say as she once more moved to follow Anja. Breathing in deeply, the girl attempted to compose herself. Anything not to outwardly appear as worried and nervous as she actually was.

But then just behind them more noise could be heard. A clattering of something metallic tumbling to the floor of the station. And Amnell stopped in her tracks as she glanced to her droid counterpart. Really wish I had a blaster now .... Knowing me though, I'd shoot myself in the foot. At least I'd feel remotely better about all of this.... Breathing out slow, an attempt to further calm herself. She then finally dared to glance behind her, feeling more and more uncomfortable by the second. That same sense of danger was rising again, and not really helping matters.

Biting at her lip, Amnell then took a couple of rushed steps towards Anja, seeking protection by the woman's side. Something she likely would never have done in any other circumstances. But Amnell knew, knew she was no fighter and seriously lacked the skills to defend herself. Anja on the other hand seemed far more capable. It seemed the logical choice to Amnell to stick as closely as she could to her.

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

 

[Boethiah]

Now that Amnell was following with compliance and questioning her less and less, Anja felt a bit relaxed with this whole situation. It would've probably been easier to just keep her in a holding cell under watchful eyes but for what she needed her to do, it required something more. Anja needed the young woman to trust her not just so she'd make droids but so she'd be loyal. She knew the girl wanted answers, many answers and that if she gave her answers she might even be more relaxed with the whole situation.

So why didn't the Host Lord provide as much as she could? If the girl was going to be her prisoner for... Well, forever, then what risk was there? Truthfully Anja wasn't worried about an escaped prisoner able to sell information to the outside. It was mostly because if she wanted loyalty then she needed to be sure that trust was built not based off of what she gave but what they accomplished together. And right now what they were doing was avoiding the dangers of a mysterious circumstance; together.

The clattering alarmed Anja as much as it did Amnell but unlike her the witch wasn't frightened to the point where she became a helpless puppy. Rather than hesitate, she kept walking when the girl moved closer. If something was following them it would reveal itself sooner or later and when it did she would be ready.

[member="Amnell de Portiers"]

 

[Amnell de Portiers]

Amnell in truth, hardly found herself capable in this type of situation. Give her a set of tools and something to fix, that was her world and in it she could do great things. Take her outside of that very limited set of circumstances and Amnell struggled for even the most basic of things. With what was happening now, under guard in a cell felt a hell of a lot safer.

Breathing out slowly, she still was trying her very best to remain calm. And right then she took a couple more quick steps to close the distance between her and Anja completely. The closer to the strange woman the safer she felt. And while that might not have been exactly true it did make the young woman feel a little better.
Hearing more rustling behind them, Amnell only dared to glance for a moment but saw nothing. Still that same sense of danger was rising within her. Sadly whatever it was, Amnell knew she had little choice but to rely on Anja for survival and aid. Nine could only do so much after all. And while she didn't like the idea of having to rely on her captor there was little other option.

More of that same noise, rustling from behind caused the young woman to jump. She'd gotten more than a little skittish in the past few minutes and no doubt that wasn't about to get better anytime soon. Amnell had just started to quash her anxieties and fears when Nine squealed out a harsh warning. From behind a creature was barreling towards the trio.

The little brunette barely managed to dive out of it's path just in the nick of time. However, her luck would not last. It never did. That was all the energy she truly had as it turned it's attentions on Amnell. Only now she could see what exactly it was that had come after them. A rodian, seeming to be suffering from the same affliction as the Ugnaught. Nine leapt into action with a arch welder and took to the creature's leg drawing a howl of pain, before slamming into the droid and knocked Nine onto his back. Amnell had only just managed to scramble to her feet, as the beast came around.

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

 

[Boethiah]

As they continued walking the same noise from behind them could be heard again; Anja was not alarmed by this as she was before. It still seemed that her senses were paying attention to something else, something that wasn't exactly there -- at least not in front of them.

Quickly she was distracted again as out of nowhere a Rodian tossed itself at them with no fear for its own life. Nine managed to delay its offensive and the Umbaran's eyes glanced over to Amnell who had instinctively dived out of the creature's path. Anja on the other hand did not maneuver herself but rather reached out with a hand and allowed the energies of the force to flow through her, summoning another one of her magicks she managed to grab hold of the creature using telekinetic powers but that was not it, dark tendrils of the force protruded out of thin air and began to leech on the Rodian. At first the creature only struggled to get free but slowly that struggle was accompanied by grunts, groans, and later sharp screams as the witch slowly extracted life energies from the creature's body.

The Rodian fell limp and she released her grip, allowing the lifeless body to fall to the cold metallic floor. Anja turned her attention to Amnell who was scrambling to feet just as the Rodian had tried to go after her.

"Be a bit more careful." Her voice was just as soft as ever.

[member="Amnell de Portiers"]

 

[Amnell de Portiers]

Amnell blinked as the whole event played out. It was over so quickly that she really hardly had time to process it all. Breathing heavily, she ran both hands through her hair, slicking it back from her face with the sweat that had started forming upon her skins from the simple stress of what was happening. As the body of the rodian slumped to the floor, Amnell stayed where she had fallen on the floor and stared blankly for a moment. It was the best she could manage. Anja had protected her, and that meant something to the young engineer. She might have been a captive, but there was safety here. Safety she'd never really had before.

"Yeah .... yeah ..." There was no sarcasm in her tone, just relief. "I will." She finally said as Nine moved over to offer his mechanical body for support to help get her off the floor. With a heavy sigh she finally worked to get herself from the floor. Her entire disposition seemed to be changing just with the situation. Simply, here and now she needed Anja to survive and that made the brunette more apt to at least be less bitchy and cranky towards the woman that captured her.

Unfortunately, she slipped upon Nine and fell back to the floor with a sharp cry. With a frustrated sigh, she placed her head in both hands, angry at herself for such weakness here and now. After a moment or two spent on the ground, recovering the girl spoke up, "Could you help me back on my feet, please?" Amnell finally asked, clearly annoyed with herself more than anything else at the moment. "I just ... I can't always..." The girl stopped there, not finishing the sentence. It just wasn't worth it to her.

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

 

[Boethiah]

Anja's eyes glanced downward at the girl, the pitiful attempts by the droid had resulted in nothing. Everything seemed to be changing like wind, the once strong hurricane of hostility had become a subtle, shaky breeze still deciding whether it wants to push or pull. Extending a hand, Anja reached down offer the girl a way back onto her feet.

The danger probably wasn't over, if two attacked there'd surely be more... Either there's a lot of them or somehow they're able to sense the presence of the three. Regardless it probably wasn't wise to venture too far, especially not without a guard. The Host Lord was capable of defending herself but should the situation get worse it wasn't necessarily true that she could continue to protect Amnell from danger. As skilled in the force as she was, the witch wasn't much of a fighter, preferring to spend her time studying sorcery and magicks rather than practical things like telekinesis.

[member="Amnell de Portiers"]

 

[Amnell de Portiers]

Amnell glanced up, and sighed a final time. Reaching up with both hands the girl pulled herself from the floor with a soft hiss, hinting of the agonies she was enduring within. "Thanks." She muttered softly, her head hung shamefully. Asking for help was the one thing Amnell loathed to do. It was in her eyes admitting weakness, and when her weaknesses only grew with each passing day, it was something that frustrated her more than she had words to express.

"Look, I don't ... I don't want to be a burden, but it might be better safer if I was back on the ship and out of the way. I'm just going to slow you down here." Not to mention you have to look out for my safety here as well, if you want me alive. It'd be easier on the both of us. Amnell thought to herself.

Exhaustion was starting to sink into her bones. The toll of the day's events was starting to wear on the girl, becoming problematic as her pain levels grew to near uncontrollable levels. Though Amnell did her best not to let any of that show on her face or in the way she carried herself. Reaching to her purse, she shuffled through the bag for a moment before withdrawing a vial and a syringe, drawing herself a quick dose of yet another pain medication. With a small frown Amnell lifted her shirt and without even the slightest hesitation she pressed the needle against her stomach, injecting the drug. With some luck it might help ease the pain that was rolling through her body at that very moment, before it got any worse. The last thing she wanted was to be bedridden in pain at a time like this.

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"]

 

[Boethiah]

She couldn't help but agree in this situation. Safety aboard the ship for her captive would be preferable, however she could not allow her on board until the diagnostics were ran and completed. Still it wasn't impossible to return back towards the checkpoint where her guards were stationed, besides there would be more of those... Things.

"Very well, we'll return -- this way." She gestured for the girl to follow closely, it was an odd instinct she felt; she didn't care for the girl but at the same time she wished to protect her. Of course in the end it was only for self-interest but it was still odd all the same.

Anja's feet moved quickly but not too quick that Amnell would be unable to keep up, her situational awareness was keen and she could almost always sense danger before he struck but twice now was pushing the limits of how many easy take downs she was capable of. In truth most Jedi were unnaturally intuitive, able to sense hostility in the air, life behind walls, and threats before their time came. It was this intuition that made force users fearsome, not their prowess in combat. Many peoples could be victorious in battle or take on a hundred foe and live but to have the tactical insight by premonition rather than prediction was unsettling. It was how Jedi defeated the Mandalorians thousands of years ago and how The Primeval planned their moves so carefully.

Her heart was beating slowly, pale eyes moving about, and almost instinctively a hand reached out to hold Amnell back as she stopped suddenly. She sensed something, but what?

[member="Amnell de Portiers"]