Festival Under the Stars(Meira)

[Jazen]

The white lines of lightspeed lit the darkened cockpit of the Black Cat with an almost eerie glow, casting shadows of the furniture and occupants within. Or rather, occupant.

Shine sat seated in the pilot's seat of his ship, leaned back lazily with his feet resting up on the cockpit's dash, careful to avoid hitting any of the controls that would make the simple flight "interesting". For the most part, he'd been using the time to catch a little well needed rest time. Hard not to, considering their destination was at least five hours through hyperspace and those white lines got hypnotic after staring at them for about half an hour. He'd set an alarm to wake him about half an hour before they needed to revert back to real space, enough time for him to prepare the final preparations for their trip.

The strange thing about this trip was the fact that Shine had decided to take it in the first place. Normally, he'd be jumping from place to place, searching out possible job offers or getting possible jobs tossed his way by his clients or heading to a system where he knew there would ALWAYS be a good for a smuggler such as him. The trade required you to move from job to job in order to keep doing that job well; servicing a ship and providing those little things such as food and water and paying your fellows was not an inexpensive venture. On the off chance that you managed to save anything up for a prolonged period of time, it was mostly likely for emergency situations like when the job pool ran dry for a bit or you needed extra cash fast.

The advantage Shine had in this area was that yes, while he did spend money to keep the Black Cat in good repair and he did spent money to pay Whiskey as well as acquire things for interest from time to time, the fact was that Whiskey was only "recently" added to his crew. Up until those weeks ago, Shine had been on his own, a fact that allowed him to keep much of the profit he'd made from smuggling off to the side of the actual funds he needed. It wasn't a immensely huge, but it did give him the liberty of acting on a random urge now and then. However, nothing about this trip was random.

Since he'd met Whiskey, he'd noticed how fully detached she was from the world around her. Her responses were direct, she had questions about the most obvious of things that often regarded normal behavior and Shine could have sworn that she'd never smiled in her life. In fact, it was almost like she had been born without emotions...until he'd seen just how emotional she could become. It was....amazing to say the least. One minute, she'd be cool as ice, completely in control....and then she'd catch her finger in something and suddenly break down into a sobbing mass of tears and shaking. Such an event had happened only a few times since Shine had brought her on, but only more recently were the breakdowns happening closer to one another.

Shine wasn't sure what was up, but he knew one thing. A rest was needed. So he'd come up with the idea of taking Whiskey(and Vis, but the plan was mostly for Whiskey's benefit) to someplace that was not riddled with corruption and filth, where they only goal of being there was to enjoy themselves. In the galaxy there were hundreds of planet's that fit this bill....but Shine had narrowed it down four at the time; Naboo, Alderaan, Ithor and Caamas. Each had their own unique merits and the fact that they were all perfect for this idea made it had to choose among them. In the end, after raking his brain heavily over it, he decided to take her to Naboo.

The counter on the hyperspace meter slowly ticked down, showing that they had about five minutes till it was time to enter normal space again. Smiling to himself, Shine flicked the internship comm on, located the signal for Whiskey's comm and spoke clearly into the device.

"Whiskey, could you come up to the cockpit? There's something I'd to show you and talk about."

[Meira]

The young woman sat, cross legged, at the foot of her bed facing toward the headboard. In front of her lay a pile of credits. These were her earnings. She'd spent very few of them on essentials such as clothing. The rest she stowed away each time it was given to her. Usually, she didn't think much about it. She'd get the money and secure it away in her room. Out of sight, out of mind. Today, however, she'd taken it out and poured them all on her bed. At first, she simply stared at it all, then she counted and separated it. Now, she was back to staring.

It wasn't that Whiskey didn't know what to do with credits, or that she didn't understand the concept of a monetary system for trade. She knew and understood it all quite well. She just didn't know what sort of relevance it all had for her. She'd never needed money, or if she did, she didn't remember. At Green Meadows, all was provided, a subject need only request what they needed.

But Whiskey wasn't at Green Meadows any more. She'd chosen to wander rather than return. Some needed things were still provided. Shine Albatros provided food and shelter on his ship as part of her pay, but clothing and other such things were now her own responsibility. She had not much enjoyed the experience of selecting clothing. The variety and options made it difficult and gave her a headache.

She didn't like choices. That was her newest revelation in this whole experiment. No... she didn't like frivolous choices. That was more accurate. The color of a shirt, for example, seemed pointless to her. Yet there were so many colors offered. When purchasing her new clothes, Whiskey had decided to stick with what might be called neutral colors; blacks, whites, greys, etc. These were forgettable. She still had to keep from being noticed, after all.

When Shine Albatros spoke over the comm, Whiskey's head raised to listen. When he finished, she stood and gathered her credits up and secured them again in her footlocker before stepping from her room and heading toward the cockpit.

"Yes?" she said as she entered, remaining standing by the door. She assumed he was about to tell her what their next job entailed. She'd wondered about it, since Shine Albatros usually informed her just after he'd made arrangements. But this time, he hadn't. It wasn't so much that she cared, one way or the other, what they were doing. It was more a matter of a change in the routine, and she'd noticed.

[Jazen]

As he finished sending the message, Shine knew he had only a few moments before Whiskey would arrive at the cockpit. But that was more then enough time to handle a few quick tasks, starting namely with responding to the communication that was trying to reach him. With a quick flip of his comm switch, the cockpit was filled with the voice of someone down on the planet managing incoming and outgoing space traffic.

"Incoming craft on bearing 1-2-5-9, please identify yourself and your reason for visiting."

"This is the independent freighter Black Cat. I'm transmitting my credentials now. I'm here simply for touring and to see if anyone needs some cargo hauled off world and don't want to commission some big company that'll rip a whole in their credit to do it."

"Very well. Your clearance and credentials check out. You're free to land at Theed, at docking bay nine. Approach bearing 1-3-5-5 and be warned, any activity outside the norm will result in the proper measures being taken. Still, enjoy your stay. Tower out."

"Roger that. I'll be sure to enjoy it thoroughly. Black Cat out." Clicking the comm off, Shine quickly adjusted the ship to come in on its new heading, carefully hitting a few other switches so that the ship's hidden tricks would remain off a scan, instead showing what one would normally expect to find in those areas of the ship. At the very least, it would keep a few questions from being asked and with any luck, avoid any extra probes that Shine didn't want to have to deal with. Not on this trip.

Sound from behind him signaled that Whiskey had arrived; he knew it was her even before she spoke, simply because there was no was Vis's footsteps made that loud of a sound against the metal floor. Smiling at the thought, he made a mental note to wake Vis from his recharge cycle after he'd talked with Whiskey. He deserved this just as much as they did. Pretending to busy himself with a few things, Shine glanced up at the growing ball of white clouds, blue seas and green landmasses for a moment in silence before turning in the chair to face her. With a gesture, he motioned to the seat beside him before turning back to the planet, waiting till she sat beside him to speak.

"Beautiful, isn't it? Naboo is said to be one of the jewels of the universe. Untainted by the chaos of the galaxy at large, its probably one of the few places nowadays that isn't caught up in the galactic struggle.

Which is why we're going there for some much needed rest." Turning in his seat slightly, he grinned at Whiskey. "A vacation of sorts. Trust me when I say it'll do us all some good. So....what do you think?"

[Meira]

When Shine Albatros gestured for Whiskey to sit down in the empty seat, she moved forward and sat without a word. She looked up at the planet when he did, but where the man's eyes might be full of appreciation at the sight, Whiskey's eyes simply stared with her typical blank expression. When Shine Albatros used the word 'jewel' to describe the planet, it didn't evoke the kind of response in Whiskey's mind that might be expected at such an expression. Instead, the only thing that came to Whiskey's mind was that he had called her Jewel when they'd gone to rescue that Sam woman.

As far as the 'chaos' in the galaxy, Whiskey was only superficially aware of what he was talking about. Sure, she'd heard a thing or two on holonet newscasts that were often aired in the spaceports they frequented while on business, but it meant very little to her. As part of her training, Whiskey had a working knowledge of the structures and functions of the Republic, as well as many of the other more common government systems on many planets, but these were simply lessons, facts that she had no real connection to. Naboo's ability to stay out of the turmoil didn't seem all that impressive to Whiskey. From what she could tell, it wasn't near where the major conflicts were beginning to emerge, so it had no real reason to be involved.

The mention of rest managed to gain Whiskey's attention enough to turn her head toward Shine Albatros. She managed to arch an eyebrow, one of the few facial expressions she'd taken to recently. The arched eyebrow and the frown were the only two real changes from her usually expressionless face.

"So....what do you think?"

Whiskey turned her face away from him and thought, the frown replacing the arched eyebrow. She thought that it seemed pointless. She had a bunk for rest. What was the use of traveling to this planet? But one thing Whiskey had learned about Shine Albatros was that not all of his intentions had a true purpose to them. So she raised her eyes back up to the man.

"Ok." she said, not a bit of change to her blank face and gaze. She stood then, and without a word left the cockpit to go back to her room. There, she sorted through some of her things and changed into a fresh set of clothes. She had started to strap her blaster holster around her waist, but thought the better of it and instead opted for something more concealed.

Digging deep in her footlocker, Whiskey found the ankle strap she was looking for and secured it to her left leg. It had a sheath for her knife, which she secured before pulling on her boots. The weapon was concealed perfectly. She locked away her blaster and what might be considered valuables and reclined on her bunk. It would not be long before they landed.

[Jazen]

Whiskey’s response to his reasoning was…stale. There were plenty of other words Shine could think of that described the emotionless reply from the woman, but in this case, stale seemed to be the best fit for the matter at hand. With anyone else, Shine would have taken this as a sign that the idea was a bad one and that the person found his plan a waste of time. However, from what he’d seen and learned from Whiskey, these were her normal reactions to just about everything short of a serious task. That fact made it hard to tell if she thought the idea was good or bad, but it was likely that she looked at it as a waste of time anyway…the difference being well…was in the state of minds.

The one thing that was different regarding her expression was that when he’d mentioned the reason for the visit, she’d arched an eyebrow. Compared to full blown facial replies, it was a tiny little speck amongst the grand scheme of things. But it was a huge step considering her normal response was a perfect poker face and every time Shine did something to make that eyebrow arch, he considered it an accomplishment. The frown was the other she’d taken to using more often, though Shine found himself trying to keep that from coming up to often or god forbid, flip it the other way around.

With a single word, Whiskey replied to his question, then left just as quickly from the cockpit as the word had left her mouth. Shine watched her go for a good moment…yes, he was inspecting just a little..then turned back to focus on flying the ship down into orbit.

As he’d done hundreds of times before, he brought the ship through the planet’s atmosphere, being careful to mind their speed and the shields as the Cat ripped its way towards the planet, a fiery red blur as it breached into the warm climate above one of Naboo’s rolling plains. With practiced ease, he slowed the craft from its fall and brought it up slowly to level the ship’s bulk out, then flicked a few switches to compensate for the planet’s gravity. The skies were clear as far as he could see and the winds were light and grew to almost nothing as he brought the ship lower down. It didn’t take long for their destination to come into view and even Shine couldn’t help but whistle as they came upon the city of Theed.

One of Naboo’s largest cities, yet still one of its many city-states, Theed was a marvel of architecture and one of the most jaw dropping sights to see first hand. On three sides of the city, the city was surrounded by glistening blue lakes, lush green forests and wide green plains, a planet wholly untouched by the fires of mass industrialization. The remaining side, where the grand Theed Palace rested, ended in a sheer drop as cliffs lined that end of the city, the base of the cliff acting much like a small spaceport and marketplace all in one. The city, from afar, was as beautiful as the world on which it rested.

Smiling, Shine brought the Cat in towards the location the city’s spaceport controller was pinging him towards. Slowly, easily, he brought the ship down into the open hangar and switched over from the main engines to the replusor lifts for the final leg of the landing, hovering craft around in a lazy circle so that its cockpit faced the open door before slowly lowering it to land with a muffled thump as the landing gear made contact. His hands a blur, Shine powered off the main drive, let all the systems go into their standby mode, then locked down the Cat with his personal code and settings. Double checking that everything was in order, Shine spun from his seat and briefly returned to his room, where he pulled on his thinner jacket over his plain white short sleeves shirt. His pants were the same as always, with his blaster neatly snuggled into its holster at his side. He relaced his boots and made sure the vibroblade hidden in a secret slot was still there, then tightened some fingerless gloves around his hands.

Grabbing the few other essentials he needed, he prodded the side of his bed, which stirred the small slipping machine upon it. Lifting his head slowly, Vis blinked at him, then tilted his head in question. ”You have need of me for something Shine?”

”Yep, scamper up here. We’re going sightseeing.” Lowering his arm down so Vis could climb it, he smiled lightly when the small Familiar’s face seemed to brighten at the thought of seeing these so called sights.

”Oh, that sounds like it could be enjoyable. Where are we seeing these sights?”

”You’ll see in a minute. Come on then.” Stepping out into the main area and heading for the passenger ramp, Shine smiled at seeing Whiskey already on her way to do the same. ”Well, that saves me the time calling you. Let’s go then; time to get some proper R & R in. Ladies…and gentle droid…welcome to Naboo.” Smiling, he descended the lowered ramp and stepped out into the glistening sunlight before turning to glance at Whiskey.

”Let’s go find a place to eat first. Unless you’d like to do some clothes shopping as our first tour?” Did he expect her to say yes? Heck no. But he knew that he’d try to take her shopping at least once while they were here; the act would hopefully do her some good.

[Meira]

As she reclined on her bunk, Whiskey could feel the tell-tale signs of the ship landing. They moved into the atmosphere of the planet and then later she felt the shift as the ship was changed over to the repulsors. This signaled the final part. As if to confirm, Whiskey could hear the landing struts being deployed.

Sitting up, Whiskey put her feet on the floor and straightened her spine. She rolled her shoulders and rotated her neck a few times before standing. She smoothed out her gray shirt and checked a final time that the knife concealed in her boot was secured. She glanced at her foot locker, wondering again if she should bring her blaster pistol. But she had no place to properly conceal it, big as it was. The thought had her wondering if she should acquire a smaller one.

This thought stayed in her mind as she left her room and made her way to the ramp. She encountered Shine Albatros and his droid on the way, offering a nod at his comment about not having to come get her. She, of course, said nothing, and simply made her way down the ramp.

At the mention of food, Whiskey felt her stomach give a quiet rumble. It would be good to eat. Recently, Whiskey had started to note that hunger tended to worsen the side effects of her failing RELIC.

"Unless you’d like to do some clothes shopping as our first tour?”

"No." she responded, almost immediately. Just the thought was almost enough to induce a headache. Food was far more preferable.

[sparrow]

Naboo was one of the major world still relatively unaffected by war. Its skies were clear, its cities beautiful, and its wilderness pristine. And that was one of the reasons it was chosen by the crew of the pirate vessel Bohemian to be the location where they would have their next few days of shore leave. A recent successful raid had left the crew with a surplus of credits, and they were wanting to relax and spend flit that excess away on fine things.

The crew was currently gathered in a small hole-in-the-wall called A Taste of Kor Vella, "Corellian Classics with a Nubian Twist," spread out among several tables and booths. At one of these tables sat two individuals who seemed to be a study in opposites. Buck was a dark-skinned Kiffar, who at over seven feet tall, towered over everyone else in the room when he stood. In front of him was a large steak that could fill two normal man, which he was gingerly cutting with his fork and knife, the utensils looking like little toys in his huge hands. Next to him was Sierra, a pale-skinned, red-headed girl who was as small as Buck was large. As Buck was serenely enjoying each morsel of the steak in front of him, Sierra fidgeted around in her seat.

Buck gave Sierra a sideways glance. "Why aren't you eating, kiddo? Fish not fresh?"

Sierra pouted. "I know what chips are. These aren't chips."

"On Corellia they are."

"But we're not on Corellia!"

Buck sighed. "We're in a Corellian restaurant," he said flatly.

"Buy whyyyyy?"

"I don't know. Corellians were weird."

Sierra looked down at her food and made a face, but she began eating, and Buck's attention turned back towards his steak. He smiled. After weeks of eating ship food, any steak would have been amazing. But this one was good. Very good.

A few minutes later, Sierra broke the silence. "Can we go see the waterfalls? And the zoo? I wanna see the blarths. And the kaadu. And the tusk cats. Pleeeeeaaase?"

"Maybe after you're done eating," Buck replied, giving Sierra a sideways glance. She was sitting there, licking the grease from her fingers. Her plate was empty. "What did you do? Inhale it through your nose?"

Sierra grinned cheekily. "So can we go?"

"I have important things to take care of first," Buck said, pointing at his steak. "Can't Asyr take you instead?"

"But Ace-y's over there talking to that half-naked woman. He won't wanna." Looking towards the bar area, Buck observed that that was exactly what Asyr was doing. "And Timmy thinks I'm annoying," Sierra continued. "Am I annoying?"

"It's Timminy Flomes!" came an angry shout from across the room. Buck decided that it would be in his best interest to not answer the question. "Can't you just go yourself?"

"Londura doesn't want me going out alone. She thinks I'll get lost or something."

"Fine. I'll go ask the captain. You are after all, despite appearances, an adult." He got up and walked towards the captain's table, returning a few minutes later. "Alright, you're clear. Just be back before dark, or call if you're not, okay?"

Sierra jumped out of her seat, throwing her arms up in the air. "Yay!" She gave Buck a big hug, and a blink of an eye later, she was out the door.

[Jazen]

Compared to the clothing he was wearing, Whiskey was…plain. She wore only a simple gray shirt, fitted pants and no visible weapon on hand. That didn’t mean she didn’t have one, Shine knew Whiskey well enough now to know she would have something stored away somewhere. But for now, the less trouble they appeared to create, likely the better. Besides…she could handle threats without a weapon just as easily.

Shine was the first down the ramp, Vis adjusting slightly with each step to remain on his perch without hurting Shine in the process. Whiskey followed in their wake and Shine gave the crew working the hangar they’d landed in a brief nod as he passed. ”Hey boys. Nice to see you all geared up and ready to go, but the only thing I need done for her is to have her tank topped off. Once that’s done, she doesn’t need any work done so leave her be alright?” Flipping a few creds to the man in charge, Shine disappeared through a doorway to the outside, Whiskey in step behind him.

Naboo was every bit the paradise they made the planet out to be. The sun was shining high in the sky, the crystal clear blue marred only by several patches of white as clouds rolled on lazily above them. It was warm out, but not sweltering, with a light breeze hissing through the air to balance out the humidity. The air was crisp, clean, pure; not stale and manufactured like that of Coruscant. Nature at its finest, untainted by over industrialization. A planet still untouched by the darkness of the galaxy and the pollution of overpopulation; yep, he’d chosen a good place for them to relax for a few days.

The streets were lined with activity at this hour, with people of various race, size and gender mingling along the busy streets. Shops were clearly marked and defined along those roads and traffic was decent, but not overwhelming. Shine simply amazed himself by looking over the architecture of the surrounding buildings, of the detail and quality that made them each unique and beautiful. Far better than the drab buildings of Coruscant, built all from the same and hard to tell them apart aside from the signs that indicated them as such. It was…a homely atmosphere and Shine was thankful for it.

Whiskey was as direct as ever in their choice of destination, though Shine had fully expected her to say as much. He’d take her shopping later; if not for clothes then for supplies and other goodies that she actually might enjoy looking at. Vis was, for the most part, utterly silent, his eyes panning the buildings and the people and the activity, his sensors overloaded by it all. As they made their way through the busy streets in search of a place to eat, the little guy was frantic with his musings.

”Oh, look, a Nikto pairing, not something seen…..that building is so colorful! I wonder how they…..look at those droids, so shiny and pristine! Ooh, a Wookie! You don’t see a lot of those wandering the galaxy…”

Shine chuckled to himself as Vis went on, though he tapped him on the head once to remind him to lower his musing to a whisper instead. Vis rubbed the spot absently for a moment, but it appeared he got the message. Smiling, Shine went back to scouring the streets for a decent place to eat. As luck would have it, a small restaurant off to the side was the next place they passed by. The smells coming from within made him pause, then the rumbling of his stomach told him that waiting any longer would be a crime onto himself. Indicating to the place with his head, Shine smiled at Whiskey.

”Well, this place looks nice enough. And they even have outside seating left. Come on, let’s grab a table and get a bite to eat before we start nibbling on people for substance.” Having said that, he’d make his way over to the first open table available, pull the chair out for Whiskey to sit in, then settle into his own a moment later, letting Vis hop down to the third free seat out of four. Settling back, he waved a waiter over, then turned to Whiskey. ”Ladies order first. My treat of course. And if you’ve got questions Whiskey, now’s the perfect time to ask. Small talk is best done over good food.”

[Meira]

Out of habit, Whiskey committed the faces of the dock workers to memory. After so many years of training in such practices, she did it instinctively. Of course, she couldn't remember ever doing it before her failing chip set her on this strange course. Such memories were wiped clean, and all the faces along with them. Whiskey was starting to notice that, though this was an automatic habit of hers, it was harder to maintain the faces in her memory. They'd started to blur recently and Whiskey attributed this to the amount of time it'd been since her last memory wipe. Like a droid, she found her functioning to be less than optimal without the wipe. This was one of her strongest motivations to abandon this experiment and simply return to Green Meadows.

Whiskey did her best to push the frustration of it all aside as she followed Shine Albatros out into the streets of Naboo. While he and his droid marveled at their surroundings, Whiskey was doing what she did best, planning escape routes. She was mildly disappointed in her companions and their lack of attentiveness, but this was something she was growing used to. She had to remind herself that Shine Albatros had not had the advantage of her training, that his ignorance was not entirely his own fault.

”Well, this place looks nice enough. And they even have outside seating left. Come on, let’s grab a table and get a bite to eat before we start nibbling on people for substance.”

Whiskey brought her attention to the restaurant they'd stopped in front of. Her stomach gave an inaudible rumble, reminding her that this venture was not entirely fruitless, and outside seating was preferable as it made for an easy escape should one be needed.

"You mean sustenance." Whiskey corrected as they sat down. She turned her attention then to the menu as Shine Albatros signaled for a waiter. Whiskey ordered a water and a salad from the menu, then waited for Shine Albatros to place his before she spoke again.

She shook her head at his invitation to initiate 'small talk'. Instead, she returned her attention to their surroundings, creating a strategy for a quick escape. After a few moments, Whiskey looked to the droid. "What information have you found about me?" she asked. The question had come into her mind suddenly and had piqued something like curiosity in her.

[Jazen]

Shine let a hint of red flush through his cheeks as Whiskey corrected him on the pronouncing of the word sustenance. Absently and lightly smacking his palm to his forehead, he chuckled as he settled into a seat at the furthest table from the restaurants entrance. Vis, who'd been perched on his shoulder until that time, clambered down to perch on his lap for the time being, curling into a small ball to watch the diverse crowd mingling about and to further admire the scenery.

"Right, sustenance. My error."

Surprisingly enough, the waiter took less time then Shine expected to arrive. It seemed that all the other patrons around had already ordered, therefore he and Whiskey were the only new patrons that the waiter had to attend to at this time. If nothing else, the woman was quickly over to them, a Twi'lek of a blueish hue that Shine didn't remember the name of. As he was still glancing over the menu, Shine let Whiskey order her meal first, paying tribute to the old homage of "ladies first". Then it was his turn.

"Hmmm, I've never been here before. I think I'll have a frizzled beverage as a drink and, oh let me see here, what's your opinion on a good lunch option to truly enjoy this planet's cuisine?"

The waiter blinked in surprise, then bit her lower lip in thought. "Possibly the fried Shaak steaks sir. With a special sauce we trade from the Gungans, it's considered one of the best meals here."

"Well, that does sound nice. I think I'll give that a try. Thank you for the suggestion."

Handing the menu to her, he watched the woman walk off with a smile, then turned back to watch Whiskey, who had in turn turned back to stare out at the streets. She looked to be deep in thought, so Shine simply remained silent, watching her, waiting. When she finally turned back and spoke, both Shine and Vis barely managed to hide their surprise at the question she asked. Glancing down to the droid, they shared a moment of shared thought before Shine sighed.

"Not exactly what I meant by small talk, but I did say you could ask questions." He smiled, pausing, then leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. Glancing around to make sure no one was listening, he continued on. "To be honest with you, there's not much to find. Like any good employer, I asked Vis to make sure there was nothing substantial about you that I needed to know. Bounties on you, perhaps, or that you were working for someone else already.

But we didn't find anything. And when I mean anything, I mean anything. Its like you don't exist, at least on any registered database that Vis could look through.

However, I don't need some sheet to tell me things about you. Quite in fact, just being around you has told me a great deal. First off, you've been well trained somewhere. The way you look at everything, every little detail, your eyes going from one location to the next, that's almost military in your diligence to it. Yeah, I saw what you were doing as we walked along the streets; its the same way I was taught to look at new places. Get familiar with them so what if something happens, you can remember and find the quickest solution to either gain the upper hand or escape. It makes me curious about who could have trained you, since if you were military or an least law enforcement of any kind, they'd be a file on you somewhere Vis could find.

Second, you're...well, I wouldn't say hiding them, but I figure you have other skills other then being a crack pilot, proficient in hand to hand combat and a remarkable beauty that you don't seem to realize you have. I wasn't going to ask about them and I still won't. When, if ever, you decide to let me know what they are, I'll be contend waiting till then. Like I said before, however, if there's something you're good at and we are ever in need of it, I'd greatly like to know as quickly as possible at that time.

Finally, and this is the one that's perplexing me the most, is just you. We can walk into the nastiest places in the known system and you won't even flinch or show that danger might be near. We come to a place like this though, and you're jumping to corner to corner, like this kind of place is absolutely strange to you. And then, you get a possibly serious wound and you bat it off like its nothing. But then you stub your toe and you're crying like a young child for over an hour. Its...how do I put this...like your emotional reaction to things are completely out of wack. When you actually show emotion, that is, which is becoming more frequent lately I'll admit.

In short, I can tell a whole lot about you, but I really don't have a clue about you at all. Not you're last name, where you're from, your likes and dislikes, why you're like this, who made you like this, if anyone and a host of other things that most people would have. Its both perplexing and interesting, all mashed together in one."

Sighing, he finally took a chance to catch his breath, to let his words sink into her, before finishing. "I won't pry Whiskey, I promised you I wouldn't. Even though I want to know so much more about you, I figure there's a good reason why you won't tell me anything. Everyone is entitled to secrets and I respect your privacy in that regard. I just hope that one day I might earn enough of your trust for you to tell me yourself what makes you so...different."

[sparrow]

Sierra wasn't sure if she had ever actually been to Naboo before. Her memories of being away from the Facility were hazy at best, completely muddled at worst, like something had taken them all and dumped them in some big metal pot and stirred it up until it became so muddy homogeneous goop. Maybe she had been to Naboo before. It was certainly possible.

But if she had been to Naboo before, it certainly wasn't as vibrant and colorful as it was today. Sierra skipped through the streets, weaving her way through the crowds, admiring the scenery, gawking at all the colorful clothing, peering through the windows of the little shops that lined the side of the street. She entered one of these shops, which had shelves filled with pretty blown glass vases in bright colors, and other little trinkets made of various types of crystals and other shiny, reflective materials.

Sierra removed one of the pieces off from the shelf, a round vase of deep sapphire blue. She turned it one way and then the other, to get a closer look at the little swirls of color on its surface. She made a face, and giggled as her distorted reflection in the glass did the same. Then she noticed the shopkeeper giving her a weird look, and she gingerly placed the piece back.

She left that shop and continued on her way, going by a fairly nondescript cafe with outdoor seating. She probably would have just passed it by had she not noticed something strange. There was a man and woman seated at one of the tables. The woman was facing away from her, but something about her pose seemed instantly familiar. But what had actually caught her eye was the most curious little droid that was sitting next to them.

[Meira]

She should have known what was coming. If she had thought it out more, she might not have asked the question at all. But it had been asked, and now it was time to sit through the consequence. Shine Albatros began to talk. This fact, in and of itself wasn't necessarily the problem. People spoke. Some just spoke more than others. Shine Albatros spoke more than any person Whiskey could ever remember knowing. Granted, her pool of people she knew was limited to her fellow assassins and the caretakers who were specifically instructed not to speak to the assassins unless it was relevant to their work. Suffice it to say that conversations were not common at Green Meadows.

Whiskey let the man talk, finding it hard to keep her attention on his words. There were so many, and he'd answered her question at the beginning of it all, even though the question had not been posed to him. When he was finally done, Whiskey still couldn't say anything because their waiter had returned with their ordered drinks. Whiskey took hers with a nod in thanks and took a sip as she waited for the Twi'lek to move away again. Once she was gone, Whiskey set down her glass.

"You talk a lot," she said, wiping her mouth on her napkin before placing it back on the table. "but you don't really say much." Her eyes moved back to their surroundings. "All I wanted to know what what the droid had found. Your personal opinions don't interest me." Some might have called that comment cold and rude, but Whiskey wasn't one for social graces. It was never relevant to her.

The truth was that Shine Albatros' appraisal of her was somewhat... annoying? She was not keen on the idea that he was studying her. That was exactly what she thought she was trying to get away from. It was what this whole experience was supposed to be about. All of her memories that weren't foggy or muddled were of training and scrutiny and assessment. She couldn't remember a time when she wasn't being watched and examined. The only thing that was keeping her from returning to Green Meadows was the curiosity at finding out what life without that might be like. So if Shine Albatros was studying her, there was no point in staying under his employment.

"Don't waste any more of your time." she finally said, not even bothering to look at him. "You know nothing, Shine Albatros. Don't delude yourself thinking otherwise."

[sparrow]

The woman's head turned slightly, and Sierra caught a glimpse of her face, recognizing her immediately. She froze. With the help of the members of the Bohemian, she had been putting her past life behind. She had not thought about life at the Facility for a long time. And suddenly it all came rushing back. Flash.

"She's waking up. How much of the anesthetic did you give?"

"Given her size, just a half-dose."

"Well, don't just stand there, put her under again!" Flash.

The room was brightly lit, with sterile white walls. She stood in the middle, spear in hand. The room was otherwise empty, save for the bits of wrecked machinery that littered the floor. A panel in the wall slid open, and another pair of combat droids appeared. From a viewport above the room, a man in a white lab coat and a surgical mask that covered his face looked down and took notes on his datapad. Suddenly the lights turned off the and droids moved to attack. Flash.

They stood in a line, twenty-six of the them. Different heights, builds, skills, and abilities, but all made for one purpose. The loudspeaker called out their names one by one. Alpha, Bravo, Charlie,... Flash.

The sound of shattering glass as the bullet struck the window. She was thrown backwards as it struck her in the shoulder, exiting from the other side. She looked downwards, at the blood that was flowing from the wound and running over her body. Huh. That's funny. That's blood. That's my blood. Strange... why doesn't it hurt more?

Flash.

She stood there in the middle of the street, dumbfounded, staring at the woman at the table. "Hey, youssa watchen where yous standin!" The gungan nearly bumped into her, knocking her back into reality. Whiskey... what is she doing here? Mere coincidence, or was she going to try to kill her like Hotel did? She had no idea what to do, or how to react, so she continued to just stand there.

[Jazen]

Shine had a feeling that Whiskey was about to sharpen her tongue and test its sharpness by using him as a test dummy. Even so, as she replied to his opinions in that direct, no nonsense, straight to the point way that he'd come to associate her with, Shine couldn't help but smile. "You never know when a quick tongue will beat a sharp one. I find it handy to be able to use both."

Shrugging his shoulders at her indifference to his opinion, Shine lifted his drink and took a long draught from it, sighing in relief and pleasure at the taste as he set the glass back down. Motioning to Vis with his head, he calmly addressed the droid while keeping his eyes locked to Whiskey. "Vis, since the question was directed at you then, what is your answer to it?"

Vis, who for the most part had been resting under the table and watching the chaos that was the daily life of Naboo, perked his head up at his name. He'd been listening, of course, to the whole altercation above him between Shine and Whiskey. The benefit of being a droid was that while an organic being might be limited to focusing their attentions in one direction, Vistal was able to direct his sensors to pay attention to various places at once. The crowd was merely one; the conversation between his partner and his first mate was the other.

Crawling from his spot under the table, Vis hopped to Shine's lap and settled there before turning his receptors towards Whiskey. "At my own personal request, Shine allowed me to search for any records of your existence, to ensure that you were not hiding something from us that could have put both me, him and likely yourself, in possible danger. Using my connection to vast databases within the Republic, I scoured for any record of a Whiskey, checked to see if there were any DNA matches on record and even screened your image against any kind of record that would record such.

There was nothing. No physical record of your existence as Shine said. To be honest, it is a bit unsettling."

Shine patted the droid and shook his head. "Don't be mad at him for that. It was my idea mostly. And it wasn't like I wanted to do it; but in this kind of work, you learn to be a bit extra cautious. And you're right, I probably am wrong in every aspect. But how I use my time is up to me; don't think to tell me otherwise."

He left it at that, because their server arrived with their meals, placing them before them on the small table. After the server had left, Shine took a piece of his meal by cutting it free with the knife and bringing it to his mouth. It was fabulous. "Now, maybe we should do something about that woman who's been staring at you like a woman who has just met a long lost acquaintance." He gave a nod of his head to indicate that very woman, who Shine had noticed suddenly stop a moment ago as she was passing the table. He might not have noticed her, if the Gungan suddenly speaking out loud hadn't caught his ear. "You know ma'am, its quite rude to stare. Perhaps you'd like to join us, since that would give you a legitimate reason to stare at my crew mate here."

[Meira]

How many times was she going to have to listen to an answer to her question? She really shouldn't have asked it at all. Next time she would know better. Next time, she would trust her own judgement and leave it at that. It really wasn't worth having to listen to all of this talk.

So while Shine Albatros spoke about tongues, something she found completely irrelevant to the topic at hand, she tuned him out almost completely. Her mind again took stock of their surroundings, focusing back again when the droid began to speak. But when she found the droid as uselessly long winded as its master, she tuned it out as well. That droid really needed a memory wipe. It was picking up on its master's annoying habits.

Suddenly, Whiskey's whole being seemed to give the slightest twitched. Her eyes had caught sight of movement in a glass storefront. In it, the reflection of the street behind her was perfectly visible, and in the scene of meandering shoppers and tourists was a far too familiar figure.

That twitch was followed by a shudder, as if a chill had run up and down the woman's spine. The sight of Sierra had brought back specific memories at Green Meadows; training simulations, meal times, conditioning. These memories were the strongest and most vivid Whiskey could call to mind. Their strength often affected the RELIC chip in her brain, which was still misfiring on occasion. Sometimes such a memory would trigger a shock like sensation that would leave Whiskey feeling sluggish and confused. Other times, the chip would jump into something like an overdrive for a few minutes, pumping the assassin with adrenalin as if she were in danger. This was the case when the chip misfired at the sight of Sierra.

Whiskey could feel her heart pumping faster and the muscles in her legs begin to twitch, ready to spring into action. She tried to keep her mind from jumping between thoughts as she considered what Sierra was here for. The obvious answer was that her fellow assassin had come to collect her. But another thought invaded her mind. What if Sierra was here to kill her? What if Green Meadows has flagged her as a liability and sent one of the others to put her down and cover up any traces she might have left behind?

It was a battle to keep still as the waiter appeared with their meal. Whiskey avoided eye contact with Sierra's reflection, but she could tell by the other assassin's sudden stop that she had not escaped notice. So, what to do?

"Now, maybe we should do something about that woman who's been staring at you like a woman who has just met a long lost acquaintance."

No. Whiskey thought. But like before, she should have known better.

"You know ma'am, its quite rude to stare. Perhaps you'd like to join us, since that would give you a legitimate reason to stare at my crew mate here."

Idiot.

In a blur of movement, Whiskey seized the knife Shine Albatros had used to cut into his food. A flick of the wrist positioned it in her own hand, and then she turned and hurled the knife toward Sierra. Without the slightest hesitation or pause to see if the knife would strike, Whiskey upturned their table and bolted. She hurtled over the low railing that bordered the outside seating area of the restaurant and ducked down a nearby alley, looking for a way to cut back toward the streets she and Shine Albatros had walked down earlier.

[sparrow]

She had only a split-second to react. As the knife hurtled through the air towards her, Sierra's hand closed around the smooth metal baton that hung at her belt. As she swung it in front of her in a sweeping motion, there was a metallic ting as the knife was deflected high into the air.

Holding the baton as one would hold a blade, Sierra quickly pulled back into a knife-fighting stance, ready for the next attack. It never came. Whiskey was gone. She had overturned the table and run.

Sierra blinked, confused.

What was she doing here? Why was she here? Why did she run? Her mind searched frantically for answers. No! She's going to tell the facility where I am. They're going to take me back. But I don't want to go back. They'd take her away from Captain Londura. From Asyr and Roma and Pau and Buck and even Timminy, who was always annoyed with her. She could see Romeo's face, grinning psychotically. Hotel loading a bullet into her rifle. Blood pouring down the front of her chest. No! Not going back!

Her eyes quickly scanned the rooftops. Clear. No sniper waiting to take a shot at her. Then there was only one thing to do. She didn't want to fight Whiskey, but she wouldn't allow her to get away. So she ran.

[Jazen]

Everything happened so fast, Shine's brain had to slow it down a second time to make sense of it all. One moment, he had directed their attention to a plain woman who had been staring at them from the street. Shine didn't have a clue how long she had been there, but her open mouth stare told him that she was surprised to see one of them. And Shine had never seen this woman in his life. Logic then dictated that she was gaping at Whiskey.

And then everything had splintered. Fast. The knife he had in his hand was gone, yanked from his grip by Whiskey. That very knife then flew through the air as Whiskey whirled around and tossed it suddenly at the woman before bolting. But it wasn't the fact that she threw the knife that caught Shine so by surprise, though it was a major factor. It was that she suddenly threw the knife that made him blink twice.

Without warning she had attacked the woman, a woman she hadn't even looked at. Why would she do that? What possible reason could she have for attacking out of the blue like that? And how in the heck did she know exactly where the woman was?

Shine didn't have much time to ponder those questions, at least for the moment. As soon as she threw the knife, Whiskey was off her feet and running. After uplifting the table of course, forcing Shine and Vis to dart back to avoid being crushed under it. Then she was gone, hopping the low rail to the area before vanishing down a nearby alley.

Shine looked towards where Whiskey had run. Then to Vis. Then back to the woman Whiskey had attacked, to see if the knife had hit home. It hadn't, deflected by a metal baton that she had quickly produced in response. Then after a moment, she sprinted in the same direction Whiskey had taken. Shine stood there, confusion covering his face, his mind trying to catch up with the situation that had just dumped into his lap. Then it caught up. And he knew what he had to do.

Unstrapping his blaster, Shine motioned to Vis with a single action, then shot off after the two woman, pushing himself as hard as he could. Whiskey, he knew, would likely be heading back towards their ship. Logically that was the move she would make, though there were several others she could try to undertake as well. Even as he moved, he clicked his comm alive and tapped it to signal Whiskey's while his free hand slipped the blaster from its grip. "Explanations later. What's your location and destination?" His voice was a mirror of both concern and anger; considering the situation, it seemed appropriate.

[Meira]

This is what she was made for. This is what her caretakers had spent years and countless credits creating. She was a machine. Whiskey darted and ducked through crowded walkways hardly touching a person or any other object in her path. Those left in her wake often stumbled or fell, but this was not her concern. Like the others, Whiskey had been trained since her earliest memories to be a killer, and also to be a survivor. Getting into places, killing, and getting back out again; this was the purpose of her entire life. Much had changed in the recent past, but this was something that would never leave her.

The machine known as Whiskey, however, was not currently running at peak condition. She needed maintenance. Already, she could feel the burning strain in her chest as her lungs struggled to keep up with her grueling pace. Her heart felt like a hammer against her rib cage and she was sure that one or the other would have to give out soon. Whiskey chanced a glance behind her, but saw nothing but the confused faces of people she'd just darted past. Ducking around a corner, Whiskey risked stopping for a moment to catch her breath and her thoughts. Unfortunately for her, that's when her comm went off in her pocket. Whiskey started and hurried to quiet the gadget before it gave her away, but not before Shine Albatros managed his message.

"Explanations later. What's your location and destination?"

Never before had Whiskey ever had the urge to slam her own head into a wall. She almost actually did it. Instead, she released her frustrations with the man in a huff before responding.

"I'll be going to the ship after I've lost her."

She then switched the comm off and considered what she would actually do. Whatever her decision, it would not involve that man. He'd only manage to find a way to ruin it. No, Whiskey would do this alone. It was how she always best operated anyway.

At that moment, she heard a sudden burst of irritated voices and knew that Sierra must be closing in. Whiskey took a few deep breaths before she took off once again, moving to loop back around and get behind her former comrade. If she could, Whiskey would try to get the upper hand on Sierra. She needed to end this chase, even if that meant taking out her fellow assassin. It was what they were trained to do, after all. Survive at all costs.

[sparrow]

There was a certain rhythm to running. Moving through crowded streets and alleys, the trick was to not break that rhythm. A speeder had stopped in the middle of the street, blocking the way. She jumped, leaving a single footprint on its otherwise spotless hood before landing on the ground and continuing her pursuit. No momentum lost. Rhythm unbroken. A man who had been nearly knocked down earlier stumbled into her path, and she quickly sidestepped around him without missing a beat.

A flash of movement around the corner marked her quarry. Sierra reached for her belt, next to where the metal baton had hung, for a pair of weighted metal spheres connected by cord. She had been taught to use those at the Facility as a form of non-lethal takedown. As she rounded the corner she swung the bolas over her head in a circle, building up speed. She could see Whiskey moving quickly a good ways ahead of her. She leaped forward and threw.

[Jazen]

"I'll be going to the ship after I've lost her."

Shine didn't bother replying to that. Flicking the comm off, Shine replaced it quickly onto his belt and then slid to a stop. Whiskey said she was heading back towards the ship after she'd lost her...but if he'd gathered anything from the woman, it was that she was tight lipped about what she was really thinking.

Vis came to his side a moment later, having to move his limbs twice as much to keep up with the longer legged Shine. Shine was panting slightly, the heat of the planet taking its toll on his physical endurance, so it took him a moment to gather his breath before addressing Vis.

"Get back to the ship, but take the highest route you're able. If Whiskey is indeed heading back that way, you might be able to spot her. If you do, let me know immediately, then keep on her. If you don't see her, keep heading back to the ship and then get her ready for a quick takeoff if needed. This day has a bad feeling to it."

"Can do. I'll also tap into the local authorities band; perhaps Whiskey and her pursuer are causing enough of a panic to draw attention."

With a nod of his little head, Vis ran over to a nearby stand. With a precision only a droid was capable of, Vis was scaling his way up to a lower set of rooftops. In his mind, Vis was already calculating the best route to take to get from his current perch to the next. He was glad for Naboo architecture in that regard; most of the buildings were attached to one another or close enough that even he could find an easy way to cross. With a final glance to Shine, Vis was off.

Shine watched him go for a moment, then turned his attention to the streets in front of him. Whiskey could have taken any direction, then taken many more. The possible routes were too many to predict and that made him all but useless in terms of catching up and assisting her. Gritting his teeth, Shine took another glance around...and then approached a couple who were busy complaining about something. "Excuse me, but you wouldn't have happened to see two woman come running past here would you? One would have been..."

"Oh, I saw those dreadful woman of course. Almost knocked me down and made me scuff this dress. And let me tell you, this dress wasn't..."

"Which way did they go? Please, it's a matter of some urgency." The woman, obviously not pleased about being interrupted, gestured her hand in the direction in one of the streets.

"That way. Give her a piece of my mind when you catch her."

Shine shrugged, gave a word of apology and thanks, then took off down that street. Whiskey had left a trail for him to follow unintentionally. Disturbance...not the best of trails to follow, but Shine would take it.