Less than Lethal Assistance ((Arh))

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

=Of course. We wouldn’t go through the effort to save her life if we didn’t make sure it -stayed- saved.=

Eressea was too excited to really even notice the humor in Phae’s message. Instead, she was scrambling down from the top of the Consul as swiftly as possible, only skidding to a halt when the second part came through. =You did see that they worked together on Manaan, correct? It was in the information I sent when I requested the seed, Phae. Other than that I can’t say, as I’ve never met her. Aunna seems to trust her enough to have wanted to contact her as soon as possible, even with Aunna’s current…situation. Something about Colonel Vinay…the -previous- commander of both of them. I do believe she intends to speak to Samantha about the events leading up to, and after, her trial. If Aunna still trusts her enough to attempt contacting her, there must be something to say for that.=

---

“Aunna Borgonia, former Major of the Republic Military. Tried and convicted of aiding in the escape of a known enemy of the Republic--a Dark Jedi if memory serves.”

Sam nodded slightly, her heart racing at what had to be a thousand miles a minute. ”Yessir, that’s the one I mean.”

“Falsely convicted and on the run with our assistance…”

She didn’t need to hear any more.

It started as a shaky breath out…a small ‘hah’ sound…then it grew. Each chuckle was breathy and full of relief, until those chuckles turned into short laughs, and before she knew it she was doubled over and leaning on her knees with her hands, head down, caught somewhere between those first chuckles and the more full laughs.

”Oh thank Via, she’s still okay, heh. Goddess, I was so worried! Hah…guess I didn’t need to be between her and that man, but hells, Aun, a dark jedi?…and now with Stenner on her tail…heh…at least they haven’t got her yet.” Letting out a sigh of relief, she finally stood straight again and ran a hand over her face. ”D’you know that’s the best news I’ve had in a while? Between this and Sev, things are finally looking up! You can get hold of her then? I need to talk to her soon as possible, this could change everything!”

The grin on her face was second to none, a stark contrast to the leery and controlled facade she’d held previously. While she was still a bit wary of the convenience of the situation, and likely wouldn’t be completely convinced until she’d spoken to Aunna herself, Sam was more than pleased to even have this glimmer of hope that her friend was still alright. If these people were on the level and they were helping Aunna, and they weren’t going to turn either of them in…

”Still lookin’ out for me, eh Lorrd?”

Still teaching me lessons, right Brathos? What’s this one? Blessings in disguise…have faith…good things come to good people? ‘Yes’ ? Another small chuckle escaped her as she shook her head slightly. Brathos…it was these little ‘life lesson’ moments that she missed him most. Well, she missed him in general, but that was beside the point.

”So…what now Mr…? You know, I’m not sure I even know your name…and pretty sure I’ve not asked it either…”

[A®heim]

I trust your judgement. I'll setup a full resource secure voicecomm upon our return to PFHQ. Await transmission in 18 hours. Good luck. Phae cut the communication and rescrambled the relay. The quick bursts of data sent through an intermittent messaging feed like the one he just had open with Eres were very easy to conceal within the millions of other signals darting about through space in a massive, unseen cloud. A full connection voice communication however, that would take a little more IT magic to make vanish under a hankerchief. He took one hop, hitting the door controls, then another to take flight and glide smoothly through to the bridge lift.

Pan, who had ceased her pacing several seconds earlier, watched him depart before shaking her head and taking his place at the console. She pulled up two holoscreen displays, one overlooking the conversation between the two captains, and the other focused intently on the Consul for any sign of movement whatsoever that would warrant the first field test of the interior hangar cannon batteries she had designed. She began muttering the specs to herself as she often did when feeling anxious or agitated. "...two gigavatt ion output generator...thirty milimeter full bore recoiless...estimated entire fourty-six marine boarding crew in 9.2 seconds..."

____________________________________________________

Arzaheim crossed his hands behind him and rocked slightly back on his heels, smiling softly as waves of relief swept over him from Sam. As is so often the case in this twisted little galaxy, what would be condemned as a blunder by one became the key to another's salvation. There was little doubt now that she was a close associate of Aunna, and a positive one at that. This was good news, very good news. It would seem the on-the-run major's resourcefulness was truly limitless, calling upon one contact and connection after another--connections that had been forged long before this tradgedy had beset itself upon her. And now standing before him was another piece of this jig saw puzzle, another testamate to the undying will some wield more fiercly than any physical weapon. Arza would have been delighted to merely bear witness to it all, but now here was his lifeblood bridging the gap between tradgedy and promise. A promise. A promise he would keep.

We have the means to do so, yes. However... He unfolded his hands allowing them to hang loosely at his sides and turned slightly away from Sam in thought. We may be unable to do so thoroughly without risk of interception. We have a secondary database here on The Espial that allows us to send and receive encrypted signals the best minds of any government couldn't find even if they were looking for them, but a sustained feed... He turned back to Sam. We would need to work through Central.

Phae peeked cautiously into the hangar, then hovered slowly in, landing lightly on Arza's broad shoulders. He gave a short, but polite bow to Sam before addressing him. Niles. He said the name with accusatory emphasis expecting nothing less but further insubordination from the misanthropic AI. Has set course for the Kuat Drive Yards. We'll be entering hyperspace shortly and are expected to arrive in approximately 14 hours.

Arza smiled at his friend. Very good, we're still on schedule even with an unexpected rescue operation. He motioned to the wide open blast doors he had originally come out of. You and your crew are welcome to rest in our guest quarters--as you can imagine, they rarely see use. Dinner is in 2 hours, I'd be honored to have some company.

Phae tilted his head to the side. We're returning to headquarters?

Of course.

And her?

She's coming with us.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

The reply she got, while hanging upside down by the way, had her pausing briefly to decode it and nod, her wings filling with a pleased green-blue.

”Alright…I’ll be ready in 18 hours. And Phae…thank you. This means a lot.” With those last sentiments sent and bounding their way along the relays, she turned back to what she’d been about to do: pass along the good news to her partner.

---

“We have the means to do so, yes. However…”

Even that ‘however’ wasn’t enough to dim Sam’s brightened spirits as she wondered just what Aunna had cooking up in that brain of hers. No doubt it was going to be risky, if not slightly bizarre, but the bizarre and risky had worked for her so far…so…

“…The Espial that allows us to sent and receive encrypted signals the best minds of any government couldn’t find even if they were looking for them, but a sustained feed…We would need to work through Central.”

Sam kept quiet for half a moment before taking a breath to speak. Her comment, however, was interrupted by a clang and a growl from Worrak inside the Exodus that made her eyes widen as she turned and looked up the ramp into the small amount of hall she could see. A loud groan that sounded like Athar earned an utterly baffled look.

”No…no’ dat one…ovar dere! Now I’ve got ta move th—“

The grumbling continued as Worrak seemed to be grumbling back in his own way. Sighing, she shook her head a bit, reminded of the fact that the Ex needed repairs. No doubt that was part of the problem in there.

”Will you two wait until I get back in there before doing more damage to my ship?!”

The grumped reply in Corellian was ignored as she turned back to the man before her. She hadn’t heard Phae approach, so when she caught sight of him perched on Arza’s shoulders, she blinked a bit before shrugging it off and nodding to him with a smile. ”Sorry about that…by the way,” she muttered just moments before Phae spoke up. As she listened to him, the shuffling and moving of floor plates had the majority of her attention, her ears catching bits and pieces of her companions talking within the ship behind her. It wasn’t until the man motioned to the blast doors that her full attention snapped forward again.

“You and your crew are welcome to rest in our guest quarters—as you can imagine, they rarely see use. Dinner is in 2 hours, I’d be honored to have some company.”

Nodding a bit, she thought over the offer. No doubt the two with her could behave themselves, but there was a lot of work to do on the Exodus, and with the ship being her livelihood…it would be unwise to keep it waiting over long. With a slight rub of her cheek from the knuckles of one hand, Sam shifted the necklace, and attached grenade pin (sans grenade), around her neck to put the clasp in the back again.

”Thanks for the offer, Sir, but I’ve got to get to work on my bird. She’s home and livelihood right now and I can’t just let ‘er sit. I’ll try not to be late to dinner, though.” She chuckled a bit and folded her arms across her chest. ”Don’t want to be rude to such a gracious host. I’ll even tell my boys to behave themselves and not start a food fight.” It was a joke, of course, that last part…but she’d been serious about not wanting to be rude. Besides, her curiosity was peaked. ”We’ll just need to know how to get there or have someone show us.”

[A®heim]

Arza simply waited with a patient smile while Sam ducked back into the hatch to scold her no doubt anxious crew. Phae simply adjusted his footing to sit in a slightly more regal position. When she had returned, both man and Familiar coud tell she was still distracted, though only one was correct as to why. Arza nodded in understanding when she declined his offer of acommodations, but was pleased she would at least be joining them for a meal--while he had no doubt they were perfectly capable of taking care of themselves in that regard, there was truly nothing like a fresh-cooked meal after weeks of space-worthy 'food'. Very well. Hephaestus can remain here with you. He will be your guide to the ship whenever you may need it.

Phae gave Arza a short bow and glided the short distance to land beside Samantha, giving the ship a once over before turning back around to face her. We can easily have an engineering team conduct repairs on your ship. I'm sure they'd have it finished long before we arrived.

I'm sure that won't be necessary. He answered Phae, though his eyes remained on Sam as he was truly speaking for her benefit. This craft has been their home for a long time. They are as much a part of it as any internal system just as it is a part of them. His hands returned to his jacket pockets. No, this is their burden to bear and they would have it no other way. He produced a strange device from his pocket--round with a large glass window on the front of it and encassed in a polished brass, through the window could be determined a ring of symbols recognizeable by only two individuals upon the ship--gave it a quick glance, and returned it. I should return to the bridge. With another kind smile and his own nearly imperceptible bow of the head to Sam, he began to walk steadily back towards the doors. His stride was one that not many witness and fewer ever possess. It was strong, confident, refined, yet with it was carried an air of almost aloofness--a casual peace of being that accompanied a mind rarely troubled.

When he had vanished from sight, Phae who had been taking the time to make an early assessment of the damages spoke again. I apologize for my behavior earlier. I wish to make it up for startling you, might you accept my own assistance at the very least? I have a...talent for analyzing mechanical structures. He turned away from her to face the Exodus, staring in silence for a few seconds. The ion weapon on that pirate craft knocked out your aft system regulator. The hydraulics will go next if you don't depressurize them soon.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Nodding to the older man, she watched Phae glide over to land near by. As the two conversed she nodded again. The man had it right…help was nice, but she could do quite a bit on her own…and she preferred to. This was her father’s ship…her ship…and it wouldn’t be right to let people do things she could do on her own. When she needed help she’d ask for it, but not before then. His movement caught her attention, grey eyes following his hand as he pulled an object from his pocket. For a moment her brow furrowed before those eyes widened just a bit as her mind recalled an image from a history text of something that looked quite similar. Before she could say anything, however, the object was gone again…pocketed.

As he smiled, his body moving just barely into a bow, she blinked once and almost found herself moving to salute in return. The sheepishly confused smile she returned mimicked the thoughts she was having about a very special Captain she’d had the pleasure of working with back on Corellia. As he vanished through the doors, she shook her head a bit and glanced down at Phae. ”Hey, it’s okay…I’m jumpy lately and…well anyway, it’s no problem. If you want to help you’re welcome to, I suppose. Better than having to tear ‘er apart.” Sighing, she’d start up the gangway before pausing at his words and looking back, frowning a bit. ”Ah hells teeth…”

Heading up into the ship, she’d shout for Athar as she headed for the aft of the ship to grab her tools. In little enough time the nautolan was there, followed by (a still weak looking) Worrak. Sam was, by that time, wrapping her tool belt around her waist and heading toward the engine room of the Exodus. ”Help me get the relief valves open for the hydraulics. Worrak, I need you on the main one, it might stick a bit, I’ll get the ones on the back wall. Athar, I need you to find out exactly how much damage was done to the aft regulator.”

And with that the work began.

System by system the Exodus was slowly being taken apart, tested, put back together, rewired, taken apart again, tweaked, calibrated, recalibrated…and there was still a decent amount of work to be done. By the time the alarm she’d set went off, Sam was buried under a pile of wiring in one of the floor crawl spaces, testing wires and smudged with all kinds of oils and greases from the engine and various pipe she’d worked on and around. The loud buzzing had her jumping, slamming her forehead against the floor panel she was laying beneath, her voice muttering a litany of curses in huttese and old Corellian that Athar was sure to give her a good scolding for as soon as he had managed to get one of his headtresses free from the wiring he’d been working through near by.

”Yeah, I know, thanks….cripes…you act like I don’t know my…hmph…”

”What’n da worlds was dat alarm for anyway, gerl?”

”We’ve got half an hour to get ready for dinner….sheesh that sounded strange.”

”We’ve what now? Wha’ kinda scheme you playin’ at, Sam? You tink dis is gonna fix itself?”

Shifting her way out of the crawlspace and sitting up, she settled her left arm on the floor and shook her head at him as he slowly blinked large eyes at her once from his position in the other. ”Hey, look, we were saved by these guys, okay? Least we can do is show up for dinner when we’re invited, right? Not gonna help us being rude.” She paused and glanced over at Worrak who was checking the wiring of the hyperdrive with Phae. ”Besides, he could use some decent food…we all could after Tatooine.” Carefully untangling herself the rest of the way, Sam pulled herself out of the crawlspace carefully, and with a bit of a wince. Her shoulder still wasn’t completely back to normal, but at least she didn’t need the sling any longer.

”Hey shaggy, get yourself untangled there, eh? And try to get yourself presentable…both of you.”

Ignoring Athar’s muttering as he climbed out of his crawl space as well, she headed went to go try and get some of the grease and gunk off of her face and hands before going to put on a different shirt. Something with a bit less sweat on it, she figured, would be preferable. Pulling her hair back once more, she headed out into the main hall of the ship and waited near the boarding ramp for the others.

[A®heim]

Superconductor, fourth port. It melted. He turned to glance at another of the grungy, pipe-strewn wall of the engineering crawlspace. Long-range communication suite severed. And at the grated floor. One of the pressure release valves for the hydrolics has jammed. First sublevel. His visor swept over the wall again and froze for a second. NMT recently released a rather well-made design onto the public market. Its capacity in fact exceeds this black market salvaged military design. It's been outdated for several years now.

Phae hopped steadily about the craft pointing out the various quirks and malfunctions, only a few he was beginning to suspect were actually caused by the pirate attack. He supposed what Arza said about a ship like this being a part of its crew made sense, but it was still a bit of a junker in his well-tuned eyes. Thus it was that he received a multitude of looks from the small team of vigilantes ranging from astoundment to irritation and for the most part his presence seemed to have little impact on what seemed to be a fairly regular repair regiment. Some people just have no sense of gratitude.

A buzz and a loud thump made him give a startled half-jump and he pulled his attention away from the hyperdrive analysis to peer over the edge of a magseal box at the source. He waited patiently for her to finish her...self-expression, and her short exchange with the nautolan before speaking to her himself. There's no need to be overly formal, there are times (few and far between) where we give it up ourselves. He looked the grease stained young woman up and down and then at the wookiee who had gotten some of his fur trapped between two integrity plates. Though I suppose a shower and a fresh change of clothes wouldn't hurt. Um, no offense. He added quickly with the closest he could manage to a sheepish smile, staring down at the floor. As he did this, his head turned slightly to the side and he looked back up to Sam. I'm picking up significant internal ionization from the reactor level. You may have a conduit leak.

______________________________________________________

The bridge door whisked open brining Pan's massive head snapping around to face it. "Why do hyo always haff to make zese things so difficult?"

Arza smiled as he walked up beside her, purple threads bored through the stone grey of his eyes. With some difficulty he reached across her figure and pulled up the live video feed of the Exodus she had been watching anxiously. I believe... With a deft movement of his finger, the screen vanished and the system shut down. ...it has something to do with free will. He adjusted the cuff of his jacket, still wearing that content grin.

Pan shook her head and started stalking towards the door he had come through. "Force be damned, it is hyo who is ze galaxy's greatest mystery..."

You're coming to dinner, of course.

Pan only snorted and disappeared into the lift. Of course she was going to be there, she knew better than to think that was a question. She wouldn't enjoy it, but she would still do so willingly--she wasn't about to leave him alone with this entire shady crew. Trust was never something that came easily to her.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

For the most part she’d ignored Phae’s picking at her father’s ship, but the comment about NMT and new ships bothered her even as she’d gone to get cleaned up. It was something Athar knew, could tell by the look in her eyes even if she didn’t show it elsewhere. He’d had to learn fast about her ‘new’ proclivity for keeping the majority of how she felt under much tighter wraps than she’d used to…than before the army. Allowing her and Worrak to pass him by, the nautolan leaned against a wall, arms folded, and looking at the droid that had finally overstepped a line.

”Now see here, bird, dis ship means a lot ta dat gerl, an’ you’ve ben insultin’ it. Dis here was her fahder’s ship. She grew up on it an’ it’s da only ting she have left of ‘im. Just ‘bout da only ting she have left of sent’ment, period, an’ fer a Corellian dat’s torture. I don’ ‘preciate you ov’rsteppin’ bounds without thinkin’ or knowin’…so now ya know.” Standing up from the wall he’d head for the door to go clean up a bit as well, but paused after a few steps, turning his head just a bit to glance back at the bird-droid from one black eye. ”You jus’ help us get da Exodus runnin’ again an’ stop tryin’ ta insinuate she should get anodder one an’ thing’ll turn out fine. ….Might ev’n have my tanks.”

That last part was grumbled as he rounded the corner to clean up and change as well.

And so (as previously stated), after several minutes to get cleaned up and changed, Sam stood waiting at the boarding ramp. Idly one hand toyed with the grenade pin hanging around her neck as she pondered what to do about the ionization and how long it could last without being a serious problem. It would, of course, have to be next on their list of things to fix…but…honestly there were just some things she wasn’t comfortable doing, toying with the reactor was one of them. Oren and her father had taught her a lot, and she’d learned more from the grease monkeys in the Sevens, but she wasn’t a trained mechanic herself. Sighing a bit (and still tinkering with that grenade pin), she watched as Phae made his way over.

”I dunno if we’ll be able to fix that leak you mentioned. I only know what I’ve picked up over the years…” Shaking her head a bit, she shrugged and let the necklace fall against her chest again. ”I’m not sure I’m comfortable dealing with a leak like that. Can’t say I’ve had to before and I’m not gonna go meddling with something I’m unsure of…”

First rule of demolitions: if you don’t know exactly what the hell is going on, you probably shouldn’t touch it.

That seemed to be a pretty good rule for just about anything in life, especially when it came to ships…any part of a ship. Athar and Worrak weren’t far behind as far as being ready to go and, soon enough, Sam was motioning for Phae to lead the way to…wherever it was they were supposed to go. Athar didn’t exactly look thrilled about having to leave the relative safety of the Exodus, but Sam knew well enough that he wasn’t going to stay behind when she was heading out into who knew what. Worrak…well, she couldn’t understand wookiee, so it was anyone’s guess why he was following, be it food or the wookiee’s life debt or something else entirely. Still, he was quiet enough as they followed Phae along through the empty hangar bay and into the halls beyond.

[A®heim]

Phae had just spreasd his wings for the short flight out of the engineering bay when Athar stopped him. He stared up nervously at the nautolan and folded his wings behind him again. He certainly hadn't meant to insinuate she should replace the ship--he had understood, even if a part of him still found it illogical, what Arza had said about the connection between a person and what they have left to call home. Retracing the audio logs and reanalyzing along a rough, often erratic simulation of human emotional fluxes he had developed as a background program several years prior, it struck him. I apologize for seeming to imply such a thing. I was simply referring to your sensor jammer--the RXD-81 was originally designed for use with Sith infiltration transports. Though the model has long since gone out of use, it is still in violation of Republic ordnance to possess one on board a civilian vessel without proper liscensing which your records indicate you do not possess. He paused for a moment. NMT has a legal one now. Works better anyway. Another excruciating (to a droid) second of silence. It's a very nice ship!

He stared up nervously at Athar and shifted one of his wings slightly. I'll just um...leave now. With a quick hop and the flaring of his repulsor engines, Phae glided out of the room and down the boarding ramp past Sam. Back in the hanger, he looped around and alighted at her feet again staring up at her as she explained her lack of experience with reactor damage. Worry not, it's a skill few are adequately versed in, aside from highly-experienced starship technicians. He tilted his head to the side. Thankfully we have one.

_____________________________________________________________

Samantha, this is Dr. Lector.

The wiry human male of about 40 brought his right hand to the edge of his graying hairline in a salute. He was dressed in a simple maintenance jumpsuit, denim blue in color with several durasteel protective plates here and there, but that was not at all what would draw the eye to this man. Mounted on his left shoulder was a much larger, form-fitting plate from which protruded a long robotic arm tipped with four-pronged claw surrounding a brilliant blue glowing lens. The claw moved to salute the opposite brow. "At your service, ma'am."

Phae sat perched on one of the Exodus' wings and nodded to Lector. He's one of our most brilliant engineers. He should be able to repair the leak.

Dr. Lector folded his arms and nodded his head. "Aye, we can git 'er done. Epi here is used to workin' around radiation--built against it--an' we know a thing 'bout reactors between the two o' us." The claw opened, rotated, and snapped shut a couple times as if demonstrating its capabilities. "We might even be able to tune 'er up a bit for ya, aye?"

If you would like, he can work on your reactor while your crew suppers.

Both man and claw nodded. "Be happy to."

Speaking of which, it should be just about ready. If you'd follow me, I'll take you on up to the captain's eating quarters. Phae took wing and hovered across the hangar to land in front of the large blast doors, which had already begun to crawl open.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

“Samantha, this is Dr. Lector.”

Quietly she observed the man as the other two of her crew exited the ship. Athar, never one to go unarmed, had his sword at his hip, hand resting idly on the hilt of it, a thumb rubbing across the pommel as it often did when he was anxious or agitated by something. Still, she didn’t make a move and wasn’t armed except for her boot knife and her sidearm. No point in moving about heavily armed, but considering she was still wary of the situation she wasn’t going to be foolishly unprepared either. Worrak howled something in his own language…vocalizing his mistrust of the man with the robotic arm coming from his back. It was just odd and unnatural in his eyes, even if it was simply strapped on. Sam simply nodded in return to the doctor and offered a polite smile.

“He’s one of our most brilliant engineers. He should be able to repair the leak.”

As the doctor spoke, Sam caught the twitching of Athar’s head tresses out of the corner of her eye and tightened her jaw muscle for a fraction of a second, her stance shifting from one of quiet observation to pulling herself up to full height and folding her arms. The change in stance had Athar looking over and receiving a stern glance from the corner of Sam’s eyes in return before she settled back into that more easy-going position. A slight huff from her nautolan counterpart was the only indication that he got (and disliked) what she was telling him.

“If you would like, he can work on your reactor while your crew suppers.”

“Be happy to.”

Sam gave the man another once over before nodding a bit. ”Alright, but don’t wander anywhere besides the engine and reactor areas….and don’t leave anything behind. That’s my baby you’re dealing with.” In other words: we like our privacy and don’t want people poking around, nor do we want anything attached to track us or goddess knows what else….or else I won’t be happy. Still, she was careful to keep polite and kind enough. This place was odd enough to put anyone on edge, and she was still trying to wrestle down the feeling that this might be one big Charlie-Foxtrot waiting to happen if she so much as twitched wrong. Sam was, however, really trying to give it a chance…an honest chance…at being as good as it seemed. If Aunna was really involved with these people she’d have to trust them. So far she liked the ringleader of this bizarre bunch well enough, but…

As they followed Phae, Athar caught up to her and fell into step. Sighing, she attempted not to roll her eyes at him. And here it comes.

”Are ya sure ya know whatcha doin’ gerl?”

”Cool it, Athar. I’m not interested in your obsession with <star maps> right now. <Struggling> isn’t easy, and <maps> always seem to be a <back-up>, aye? So you gonna question me, or you gonna help? If you’re helping, quit with the <maps> and <ante up>. Got it?”

The soft grumble she heard first as they entered a lift was followed by a sigh, a nod of his head and a gentle pat to her shoulder. Smiling, she huffed a slight chuckle and shook her head slightly as the lift brought them up through the ship. ”You worry too much sometimes, anyway. Sev wasn’t so bad, was he? Try to trust me a bit more.” With that she’d glance over to Phae and tilt her head a bit. ”So, Phae…should we be worried about being eaten by the giant lizard with the cannon on its back, or what? Anything specific we should know to say or do? Or NOT say or do?”

---

“They’re nearly here, Sir. Just now entering lift three.”

The Echani woman stood gracefully beside Arza, silvery eyes staring blankly for a moment as she accessed the ship’s security camera feeds before looking over at the older gentleman. Havanli, unlike Niles, preferred to show herself as more than just a disembodied head…in fact, most of the time she preferred not to be seen or heard at all. When she did appear, however, the GAI had quite the calm and regal appearance. It was fitting for the name and form she’d taken on, after all. What better form for a security and protocol AI than a battle tested Echani queen?

“They are armed, albeit lightly…shall I have them leave their weapons in one of the lockers, Sir, or shall I allow them to pass?”

Quietly, the regal looking woman watched Pan’s movements through icy blue eyes. She understood the doctor was protective, especially of the familiars and Arza himself, but sometimes it seemed to be too much agitation and aggression. Those blue corusca gems set into her white gold circlet glinted and flickered realistically over her long white hair as she turned her head back to Arza once more, awaiting his answer.

---

Smuggler’s cant (based off cockney rhyming slang) – I just made some terms up so *shrug*

Star maps – traps
Struggling – smuggling
Maps – shortened from ‘star maps’
Backup (backup disc) – risk
Ante up – back up/ back me up (basically telling him to keep a look out but not be overly suspicious about it)

[A®heim]

The three-armed man threw up all of them in a half-hearted surrendering gesture at the wookie’s rather vocal disapproval of his augmentation. “Come laddie, yer on the Espial--this can’ be the strangest thing ya’ve seen today.” He turned to nod to Sam. “Ya have my word, nuthin’ but the reactor. He threw another salute to Phae and set off in the direction they had come from.

Phae waited till he was out of sight to shake his head and address Sam. I know what you’re thinking. He may seem a bit odd and eccentric, but… well actually he is quite odd and eccentric, but also quite brilliant for a human. Again, no offense. He added the last bit hurriedly, not meaning to make it sound like an insult. What I suppose I mean is that your ship is in his many capable hands, possibly even before our meal concludes. Speaking of which, the captain’s dining room is right through this lift.

_________________________________________________________________________


Arza didn’t turn immediately to address the Ghost AI that handled security assets both planetside and here in the depths of space. This was because oftentimes there would be nothing to address—Havanli was, if anything, far more subtle than Niles. Very good. Continue monitoring them if you would. The “if you would” of course was a formality most would skip while conversing with a computer, but a formality he nonetheless acknowledged. Many years in the company of such life-like coding had given him no small amount of respect for even the most humble of AI. He knew there was an understanding between entities such as Havanli and himself; she did what he asked of her, and he never expected she would do only that.

He spotted the soft glow of her hologram in the reflection of one of the darkened display screens and turned to look her in those incredibly rendered eyes. As she finished reporting on their guests’ weapon status, he began to gather a few things and adjust his jacket. Allow them the comfort of the doubt. I don’t think they will cause any trouble. If they do, confiscate their firearms—I do believe we have an electromagnet in the dining room table for just such occasions. He answered as he adjusted his bowtie and headed off the bridge. While waiting for the lift to arrive, he furrowed his brow in thought. Actually it may have been installed to keep the roast in place...during hyperspace jumps, evasive maneuvers, the like. The lift doors swung open and he shrugged and stepped inside.

Hardly a second passed between the moment the lift doors slid shut behind them and when they zipped open again on a dramatically different scene. The sterile white passages and fluorescent lighting had given way to décor too lavish to belong on a spaceship of any size. Soft orange lights illuminated deep burgundy walls and golden curtains from a large chandelier hanging over a most grandly set table. A dozen or so finely crafted wooden chairs sat around the oval table which was set with sparkling glasses and silverware, though no food to speak of as of yet. A large centerpiece was present featuring long vines of ivy within which several varieties of whole fruit were cradled. And at the very end of it all, at the head of the table, sat their mysterious suited host with that same tiny, content smile that blended right in with the warm lights and colors of the room. In an awkward contrast that the less wary may have even found amusing, Pan’s monochrome scales glistened as she pointedly watched them enter from her own seat beside Arza’s complete with a special hole for her tail to pass through. Her eyes darted to their weapons and her head snapped to face Arza, though he silenced her protests with a simple hand gesture just as she had begun to open her mouth.

Phae took several quick hops out of the lift which closed behind them once they all exited. Make yourselves right at home now, I’ll just go and check up on the meal for you. Another short jump and he took wing, a small panel about three feet across sliding open in the ceiling for him to pass through, momentarily shattering the room’s illusion by providing a quick glance of those white florescent lights. The panel slid closed again leaving Sam, her crew, Pan, and Arza the only occupants of the almost impossibly quiet room. The latter simple placed his elbows up on the table, steepling his fingers and inclining his head towards the many vacant chairs. Please, do have a seat.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Arza’s reply was acknowledged by a simple nod of her head. Of course she would continue to monitor them, as long as they were aboard she would keep a very close eye on their visitors. Everything from heart rate (when they passed those sensors) to body temperature and physical cues was going to be taken and scrutinized with all the detail, expertise and finesse of a team of experts with the best detection systems at the tips of their fingers…because, technically, that’s what she was. When the old Rilan turned to look at her she nodded once more to his words and gave him a placid smile. ”Of course, Sir, but I don’t believe…”

Stopping herself, Havanli merely chuckled and shook her head. The magnet was most certainly not for confiscating weapons, but it would work in a pinch until she could put other fail-safes into action, or until Pan got there. The AI most certainly hoped that it wouldn’t come to that. As Arza corrected himself, she simply smiled more and nodded once. ”I believe it was meant for the latter, Sir, but apparently it can have many other uses.” As the doors slid open her holographic form dissipated in a swirling flicker of glistening pixels before vanishing completely.

---

Worrak grumbled a little before huffing what Sam supposed to be a wookiee chuckle at the strange scientist’s reply to his disapproval of the third ‘arm.’ The accent made her pause a moment mentally before shaking it off again as Phae piped up again, but didn’t answer her question. Still, all she could do was chuckle. ”Trust me, no offense there. We’re plenty stupid, and even when we’re not we sure can act like it.” As the lift slowed, she unfolded her arms and settled on hand on her hip. ”Glad to know my ship’s in good hands, but that still didn’t answer m--”

Her words died as the doors opened on a scene she wouldn’t have expected to see on a ship, ever…or anywhere in her life for that matter. Sam, baffled and stunned by what she saw, didn’t do more than blink as her eyes flickered around the room. Athar, having been staring at the floor and lost in his own thoughts, nudged Sam when she didn’t move before seeing the room and lifting a brow himself, wondering if this was some sort of elaborate hologram room. Worrak didn’t seem particularly bothered by the exceedingly out-of-place room and nudging them both out of the lift…or maybe it was just because he was too hungry to care. It wasn’t easy to tell with him.

A few tentative steps into the room and Sam couldn’t help but smirk at the awkward and uncomfortable situation caused by the rather…decadent…setting, much less the company. Worrak seemed to take Phae’s words to heart, skirting around the other two and heading for one of the seats at the table. Athar and Sam took a bit more time to get moving again. Sam could feel Athar’s eyes shift to her before she nodded just slightly. He passed through her field of vision to take a seat with Worrak on the opposite side of Pan and quite near the other end of the table. Sam, on the other hand, dared to take a seat a bit closer to their host and his…side kick. Finally she dared to say something as she pulled out the chair…

”Wish I’d been told we were attending a formal dinner, I would’ve put on my nice dress…”

Classic Sam…when in doubt or uncomfortable: crack a joke.

”I’m glad we’re not late, at least?”

[A®heim]

The present hosts made for an odd contrast of demeanor as Sam and her crew took their seats. Pan was proceeding with her usual duty of making everyone present suddenly become inescapably aware of just how squishy their necks were—perhaps with the exception of the Wookiee who, in addition to having a significantly less squishy neck, seemed utterly unfazed by the daggers she stared and plopped himself merrily at the table. Athar, taking a seemingly more cautious plan of action, seated himself almost as far away as possible from imposing reptile and her multitude of pointy bits.

Arzaheim, however, almost neutralized her unnerving presence entirely with the calm, yet warm aire about him that seemed to seep into the similar atmosphere of the room that encompassed them all, or perhaps it was the room that seeped into his own aura, it was hard to tell. He was dressed much in the same fashion as he had been when they first met him in the hangar, though the suit seemed slightly different—its shade had shifted from black as pitch to black as night, which is never as black as people always think it is. It rested straight and squarely on his shoulders despite his posture being anything but stiff; a remarkable kind of man who could appear all at once imperious and completely relaxed.

Once everyone was seated, he again drew forth that odd, circular disk from his pocket, the chain chinking lightly on the table, and peered at the symbols written on its face. Right on time, actually--a truer sign of punctuality than being early I always say. He pocketed the device and glanced at the ceiling patiently. I’m afraid I cannot say the same about our meal, however. I had hoped for it to arrive just as you did; thought perhaps the effect might be a tad more spectacular that way.

No sooner had he finished those words than that same panel slid open and Phae came swooping back into the room to alight on the back of Arza’s ornately carved wooden chair. He gave a low bow to the assembly, spreading both wings wide. Dinner is served.

The room practically exploded with activity, or more accurately, imploded, as dozens of panels on the ceiling retracted and just as many long, mechanical limbs set about to setting the table. Claws on the ends of white steel arms as thick as tree trunks daintily set down steaming ceramic trays piled high with verdant steamed greens, hearty casseroles, and neatly arranged bread rolls. Tureens of soup descended alongside them, filling the air with the mouth-watering scents of the finest spices in the Middle Rim. Finally, in the center of it, the lid of a silver platter was lifted revealing a large, succulent roast.

Sorry if it all seems a bit thrown together, though I’d say our cook performed quite admirably considering it was on such short notice. His eyes scanned the meal before them appreciatively before moving to Pan who had already helped herself to a large piece of meat she was moment from sinking her teeth into. One of her eyes met his and her jaw snapped shut. With a barely veiled huff, she hunched herself over her food and disdainfully picked up her utensils—a humorous sight with those tiny arms of hers. Arza clapped and rubbed his own hands together, addressing his guests. Shall we eat?

I assume you must have many questions, Arza stated as he began carving himself a slice of the roast. Sliding this onto his plate, he next heaped a large helping of greens alongside it and topped it off with a few spoonfuls of a yogurt-like sauce from a silver dish. He cut a small piece, stabbed a few greens on the end of his fork and swirled it around in the sauce a few times before popping it into his mouth. He glanced up at Sam and raised his eyebrows as he chewed. He continued watching her expectantly in this manner for quite some time before swallowing and dabbing away some of the sauce that had clung to his mustache with a white napkin. He brought his hand, still holding the napkin, to his chest, looked down, and made a throat-clearing noise. His other hand he gestured in a rotating motion. Well, go on then.

Pan stared at him in disbelief, frozen in mid-bite. Arza began cutting another piece.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Pan…the odd lizard-being made her more than a little uncomfortable, and sitting so close to it (her?) didn’t make things any better. Sam, however, kept herself from giving the being little more than a single, precautionary, glance and a little nod before settling herself into her seat. So far there was no leaping and mauling or hacking and blasting being done, and that was a good sign in her experience. Still, the blonde wasn’t entirely sure if it was because of the man, Arza, or rather she’d chosen to behave on her own. It was likely the latter, considering the eyes said it all…

Even if Samantha wasn’t good at reading all the visual cues of the saurian races there were just some things that transferred over…like the looks people got in their eyes (assuming they had eyes). Another cue was the flaring of the beings nostrils. That never tended to be a good sign in animals, and she had a sneaking suspicion the same was true for this ‘Pan’ character as well. Arza, however, seemed to exude a sense of calm neutrality that helped keep herself (and even her more uptight nautolan friend) from getting an itchy trigger finger. While it didn’t exactly put her completely at ease, it helped a great deal with the tension.

“Right on time, actually--a truer sign of punctuality than being early I always say. I’m afraid I cannot say the same about our meal, however. I had hoped for it to arrive just as you did; thought perhaps the effect might be a tad more spectacular that way.”

”Thank you, Sir. I don’t particularly care to be late, but luckily there wasn’t much traffic….” Her comment trailed off as she glanced up, Phae’s return not unnoticed or completely unexpected, but what was unexpected were the plethora of robotic arms that all but appeared from the ceiling with the food. She didn’t even glance in Athar or Worrak’s direction, though if she had she would have seen the utter shock etched across the nautolan’s face and the way the wookiee leaned backward, startled. Instead her eyes widened a fraction of an inch before she was forced to put a hand over her mouth to hide the utterly amused smirk that was growing there even as she wrestled back a fit of giggles at just how utterly absurd and bizarre this was.

Still, the smell of it all was winning over the desire to laugh at the oddity and she managed to pull her hand away from her face, only showing a bemused little smile. His apology was unnecessary, however. ”Please, don’t apologize…this is a better meal than I’ve seen since we provided security for one of the Republic Galas.” She couldn’t help but chuckle a little at the memory. ”And that was just seeing it, never mind being able to actually eat any of it. If anything I’d say he…or she?...has outdone themselves,” she finished, smiling over at the man.

From the corner of her eye she could see Pan ready and (not) waiting to chow down on her food when Arza shot a look in that direction. It was all Sam could do to only allow a corner of her mouth to twitch upward at the sight (and sound) of disappointment, only made more difficult by seeing the woman try to use the utensils. A momentary holding of her breath easily staved off the urge to chuckle once more. As they all started to serve themselves, Sam paused, almost confused by his statement.

…Well of course she had questions, but where in the multitude of worlds did she even start with them?

She hadn’t realized how long it had taken her to consider this quasi-question and her ‘reply’ to it before he spoke up again.

“Well, go on then.”

Blinking, she stared at him for a long moment, fighting a losing battle against the growing grin that threatened to overwhelm her face. It was, however, a losing battle and soon enough she was chortling her amusement and shaking her head a little.

”I’m sorry, I don’t mean to laugh it’s just…ahem, sorry.” It was only a partially honest apology. Certainly she didn’t mean to be laughing, but the whole ordeal was just…beginning to tickle her rather than put her on edge.

Athar looked at her as if she had two heads.

”Right, so…first off, what do I call you? I asked you before, but never got an answer…and while I’m all for keeping names to ourselves, you already know mine and I’m left calling you ‘sir’. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind keeping it formal, but I knew my COs names even if I didn’t use them. I figure it as a part of proper manners to give some name at least…” Even if it wasn’t going to be his real name, some name was better than no name.

”Secondly, you mentioned that you could get me into contact with Aunna back at your headquarters…or at least I’m assuming ‘Central’ is your base of operations…but how exactly will this work? Do we come with you? Do we leave the Ex here? You see, I’m not sure the Ex will be completely space worthy even if we work on her all, what is it now? 16 hours? without a break or any sleep.

If we leave the Ex here, will we be able to return to work on her further until we can get her out of your bay? No offense, but I wouldn’t trust the KDY to move her anywhere, and if you don’t want questions asked by Kuat security it’s likely best if she’s able to leave under her own power.”

Sam thought for a long moment, running over the business aspects of this situation before her personal curiosity got in the way even as she started chewing on some of the greens herself. There were so many questions that she could likely drive the whole table insane with them if she didn’t try to get as straight to the point as possible. Finally she put her utensils down on her plate again and smoothed out the napkin on her lap pensively.

”I have more questions, but I suppose those are the primary business concerns for the moment.”