Sensible sensation (Meira)

[Dean]

She had been sitting around her ship for quite a while now. She was thinking, thinking deep thoughts about her future. She didn’t know how she would go along now. Her last encounter with a sith master had been less than fruitful. Maybe it was her way of interacting with people, even with sith she appeared to be off-putting.

She looked at the chrono built into the kitchen and saw that it had been three days since that woman had left. She had been sitting around and thinking, regretting those salteen crackers she had pulverized with her mere thought. It was time to eat, she wasn’t about to starve on her ship while being stubborn and thinking about herself.

Gathering the force she lifted herself up from her chair and suppressed the pangs of hunger that raged through her body. She used to force to propel herself and carry herself with the usual grace that she had when she had eaten well.

Walking down to the mess hall she made a point of looking people in the eye and not displaying weakness, in her mind the sith were people that should kill you if you showed signs of weakness so she expected nothing else from others.

Entering the mess hall she walked straight over to the counter and shoveled as much food on her plate as humanly possible. She had actually use the force to keep it all on there. Sitting down at the nearest empty table she started eating like a savage and felt her energy be restored to the levels it should be.

From the quality of the food you could easily deduce that droids could cook well but they couldn’t actually make it special, that was another reason why Ara didn’t eat here very often. She longed for something tasty, good food made you sharper. Normally she was very minimalistic but for something nice to eat she would actually travel quite a while. She was out of bothers for now though.

When she finally finished her plate she gave it to one of the various droids that was bussing the tables. She closed her eyes and sunk deep into the force. She was working on her sense skills and actually making some slight progress on her own but wasn’t nearly on the level that she wanted to be.

She felt everyone that was eating and felt them flame up with emotion and ambition, some even had power but there was no one exceptional. She ignored them and looked for someone that had more to offer.

After a minute or so she felt something flare up not too far away. She left her table and walked in the direction the presence came from. It was burning hot inside her.

[Meira]

"Mistress Renata! A moment of your time, please."

Renata did not stop. She'd been too long on that ship. Too long in the presence of that man. She wanted to put as much distance between herself and the drunken mistake she'd made as possible. Of course, the brute couldn't have used the private landing pad. No, she had to trek past the entire temple. The smell of the dining hall caused her stomach to lurch. Her ears were still ringing slightly, but at least the throbbing behind her eyes had stopped. Never again, she thought to herself as her feet brought her silently past the man looking to her expectantly.

At first, it seemed to man would turn away, but he changed his mind and trotted after the Dark Lady. "Please, mistress." he called again. Renata stopped, her irritation creeping up her spine like ice. She did not turn, nor even look at the man as he approached and stopped a pace behind her. He sank down on one knee. Spineless, she thought. Though she couldn't decide which she despised more, the grovelers or the prideful.

"Mistress, I have a family," he began, and Renata had to keep herself from rolling her eyes. Instead, she turned, an expression of concern played out upon her features, masking the boredom and ire that lie beneath. Encouraged, the man continued, spilling out his sob story, hardly stopping to take a breath. His poor infant son, sick and dying... no money... and so on, and so on.

Renata closed the distance between them, her face still a sham of sympathy. Long, thin fingers reached out, taking the man by the chin as he knelt before her. It was a simple task to let her consciousness seep into his, finding those thoughts and images of his family. He was no liar. His son would soon die if he did not act.

"I will do whatever you ask. Please, just help him." the man pleaded. And he would, Renata could feel that. But this man was too weak, she would get nothing useful out of his service. Smiling tenderly, Renata held his chin a little tighter, looking straight into the man's eyes. She could feel where her nerves ended, yet seemed to connect to his, the force flowing between them as if one entity. Slowly, she allowed that connection to flow with a mild sense of pain. A mild discomfort, at first, it grew into an itch, then a sting.

The man squirmed beneath her, until she released him and the sensation was gone. "If you are not fit to protect and raise your child, then you are not fit to be helped. I have no patience for weakness. Save him, or don't. It's no concern of mine."

She turned away, the man already forgotten behind her. Just ahead, she could see the lifts. She was oh so close, she could already feel the soft sheets of her bed, the blissful silence that awaited her. Just a few more steps and it would be hers.