Rounding Up Stragglers (Jace)

[Squee]

Where was she supposed to go? This question wasn’t unfamiliar to Valry. She had toyed with such questions before. They may not have been unfamiliar, but they were not comfortable. How many times before had she walked somewhere and asked that question in the past four years? It was asked when she set foot on a new planet, set foot into a complex apartment building, or when she prowled around looking for a job. It had come up when she had had to kill someone for one reason or another. Looking at the body, one couldn’t help but wonder where they were supposed to go next.

And with what accompanied a “where” was a “what”. What was she supposed to do? Was she allowed here or there, allowed to walk freely down the halls as she was doing now. There wasn’t anyone around. She couldn’t ask anyone any more questions. Where was she supposed to find this Bane character? An uncomfortable haziness was settling toward the front of her mind, weighing down heavily. It’s name was confusion and uncertainty. Mostly of what the young woman was doing now was wandering the halls aimlessly, looking for a sign, a person, something that would point her assuredly in the correct direction. She wished, oh she wished, so she didn’t appear so much as a fool to some passerby who would simply glance her way and continue on before she could bother with her questions.

“Buir…” her son whispered at her side. He was glancing around as much as she. He was nervous about his surroundings, feeling uncomfortable with the very superbly cleaned walls looming around him. Valry was the only one he had currently. This outing had rendered him to near silence, his mother had noted, as were just about all his outings. He was such a good boy, and Valry appreciated she had such a son as natured as Orak. Part of it had to be their history and his experiences and part of it had to do with Valry’s parenting. At least, she’d like to think so.

She really liked to think of herself a decent parent to Orak. If she could give him more than what they had, she would. If she could bring his father back from the dead, she would. But she couldn’t, and she could only wish she could. That was wishful and longing feelings, and it wouldn’t get her anywhere. There wasn’t a way to rise her husband from his grave, but even if she could, she didn’t have the money to spend to get her all the way back to Coruscant. And Valry didn’t want to put her son through any more hell than he had already been through.

She was here because of a recommendation. Perhaps it was clearer put as a sort of suggestion. Valry really didn’t care what job she ended up with or what or where she might have to go (not just yet anyway) as long as she could provide more strongly for Orak instead of simply labor for a roof over their head. What credits Valry had now was all that she had and she wasn’t getting any more of it.

“Buir, I don’t like this place,” Orak whispered again, his grip becoming a bit more firm in her hand. “Can I be up?”

“Orak, my armor isn’t exactly comfortable, if you’ve forgotten.”

“Don’t care,” the boy replied back to her as they stopped for a moment. Valry side and held out her hands as Orak stepped forward into them. Valry hoisted him up, wrapping her arms almost protectively around him. He used his arm as a pillow cushion, since his arms were wrapped around her neck. Valry readjusted for a better grip to keep her helmet in her hand. It was the only piece of her armor not currently in place. There were her pistols, as usual, to her sides. Orak’s legs were pressing them downward as he rested onto them, unconsciously trusting his mother’s handwork to hold him up, the belt being something Valry had to have created. It was strong, and would keep Orak, as well as any other gadgets, well held up.

And Valry also carried her rifle, slung across her back and slightly awkward feeling now, thanks to Orak.

“Buir, where going?”

“Quite frankly, Orak, I don’t know much either. I’ll figure it out though.”

“Always figure it out.”

“That I do.”

“Don’t like this place.”

“I know, baby,” Valry whispered in return, giving her son’s head a quick kiss. “We’ll be out of here soon and I’ll buy you a treat. Been very good for me today, Orak, thank you.” She assured him this as she rubbed his back briefly and gently, turning around once again to stare back down a different hallway. Should she go down that way? Or stay right here? For the love of Mandalore, she wished she knew what exactly to do. “We just have to find a general, Orak. Have I told you about generals yet?”

“Important man?”

Valry chuckled slightly. “Just a little bit.”

[Jace]

Running through the plan one more time, Bane was finally satisfied that everything was in place. He had remained in the briefing room long after everyone else had left. There could be no mistakes, not in the planning at least. Bane knew that things likely would go awry, they always did, but tried to plan for as many contingencies as possible. He took a step back from the table, stretching his arms out as he did.

Only two days to go, maybe its time to get some rest

Bane had been running on minimum sleep for the last two weeks, somehow managing to make it through. There hadn't been any time to waste between planning, training, and a whole assortment of other activities. Now it would be time for him to catch up on some much needed rest before the mission. He was going to need it too, this mission would be pushing everyone to their limits.

"Master sergeant." He stated suddenly

"Sir?" replied the older man who had been standing at the door.

"Send a message to both the Fleet Admiral and ground commander, confirming the operation time frame"

Bane noticed that the man hadn't moved, and turned to regard him

"Was there something unclear with the order, Master Sergeant?"

"No sir...sir you should really get some rest"

"Don't give me orders soldier, dismissed."

Bane's tone suggested that he hadn't been actually been mad at the soldier for his suggestion. After all the master sergeant was a man who was older than he, and had fought with him together back on Concord Dawn. Injury had sidelined him for quite sometime, and though Bane had offered him field work, he said he would just be slowly down his team. Bane held great respect for the man, and always listened to his advice carefully, after all he was a friend of his father.

With a sigh, Bane shut off the holo, and made his way out of the room. As he walked through the hallways, soldiers came to attention, saluting him with Bane returning the salute. He turned the corner and saw an odd sight, one he wouldn't expect to see in his headquarters. There was a woman carrying a child whom he assumed to be her son. She also seemed lost, which meant she most likely wasn't the wife of one of his soldiers. A traversed the distance between the two in a few moments, and stopped a few feet away.

"Is there something I can help you with Miss?" He asked evenly

[Squee]

“Mommy, we’re lost.”

“No, we’re not.”

“Bein’ stubbern, Buir,” Orak hissed back into her ear, watching the scenery that was behind his mother. Which were more walls. Walls that seemed so clean he could eat from it. Blank walls. Uninteresting walls. Bland. Nothing special to look at. Orak was a little freaked out at the purity of the walls and at the same time very bored of looking at it. The floor wasn’t much better. No amusement. This place was boring.

“It’s “stubborn”, Orak. And I’m not lost. Have I every gotten us lost?” Valry asked him, being rhetorical.

“Yes,” Orak answered with a slight yawn.

Valry sighed and patted his back. “Okay, one time.”

“In the same place, going to same place. I lost. You lost, too.”

“Orak, I am not lost. It’s… just around a few corners.”

“Buir…”

“I’m serious!”

The boy giggled, lifted up his head and smiled at his mother. “Not lost then. Silly Buir.” Valry blew a breath in Orak’s face. “Silly boy.” She hated it when he sounded so serious about stuff. Like he actually believed in what he was saying. She couldn’t tell when he was joking or simply giving her a hard time about something. Candar used to play that on her all the time. Though, her husband had had a terrible sense of humor, trying to pull of jokes that were horrible. Horrible in the sense they were bad and horrible in the sense they seemed to opposite of funny. She remembered quite a number of times she had felt anger towards him for one of his “jokes”. Orak was simply dry about it. He seemed to get it from her side of the family.

“Buir, mando’ad.”

And there he went again, watching her back. Did he feel a duty or something to do it? Valry was sure of herself that she could look after herself while talking to Orak. She turned around, ready to greet an approaching mandalorian, only to find he was actually just a few feet away. She blinked. Orak twisted in her arms, forcing her to readjust accordingly.

“Um, Orak, it might be better if I put you down…” she said to him. He nodded, now silent and eyes not leaving the newcomer’s eyes as his mother lowered him to the ground. He would become a ghost while they spoke. All ears, listening, and learning, from what she understood. He would probably ask her questions later on what he heard. He learned best by listening and watching. She’d seen him work a datapad just by watching her press some buttons.

On the ground, Orak took up his usual position just behind his mother’s leg. His eyes stared at the eyes of the man, trying to decipher any hidden messages. It was hard. The man seemed tired, maybe, Orak couldn’t tell quite clearly. He was tall. Not as tall as Malak had been. He was certainly taller than Buir. Then again, there were lots of people taller than Buir. And everyone was taller than him. Except babies. The crawling ones at least. Orak shook his head as if shaking his head of the random wanderings filling it. The man was tall, and he stood as if he had a pole attached to his back and metal for a jaw. And he seemed important. Maybe. Hopefully. So Buir could stop being lost. A small smirk crossed the boy’s lips but it was gone again quickly.

Valry had switched her helmet from the right to the left hand. Dipping her head, she pressed her right hand, a closed fist, to her chest in a salute. “Perhaps, sir, I’m searching for Brigadier General Bane Haseful. Would you mind telling me where I can find him?”

[Jace]

(Sorry for short post, I just had no idea what to say >.<)

He wasn't exactly sure how to react to the presence of the young boy. The boy didn't bother him per se, but he seemed somewhat out of place in a Special Operations headquarter. The mother on the other hand looked like she was ready to do battle. Noting her salute, he returned it with one of his own. The armor, weapons, along with the salute suggested that she must be in some branch of the military.

He had been right though, she was searching for someone, and that someone was him. She might possibly be a transfer that he had missed with all the mission planning going on. Then again she could just be another female mercenary who would annoy Bane. The general really hoped it was the former and not the latter. One was more than enough for him.

"Well it looks like your search is at an end, I am Brigadier General Haseful."

He paused for a moment or two before continuing on.

"So what brings you to SpecOps soldier?"

[Squee]

Well, that was a rather short search if anyone asked Valry. She was slightly taken aback when the man had announced himself as the one she was seeking. Just how many times did that happen in the galaxy? Amusing thought, really. It was like being in a story book of some kind, where everything fell into place at the hands of a writer. Valry’s surprise toward this announcement was expressed in a simple blink, eyes expressing her surprise to the matter and then it was gone again. She resisted an urge to look down at Orak, knowing his eyes were up on her. All her son’s face would show her was the surprise she had felt.

“Soldier, sir?” Valry was tainted with a little confusion. Soldier, why would he think she was a soldier? Odd thing to say. “I don’t like to appear misgiving, Brigadier General. I am not a soldier.” It must’ve been her salute. Oops? Valry couldn’t tell if that was a bad thing or not. She’d always done it whenever she could out of respect. She had used it countless times. Sometimes she even saluted out of habit, instinct upon seeing something. It was what her father had trained in her. And it was her father’s teachings that had kept her, and Orak, alive. So far.

“I am Valry Justic, daughter of Keltor Keyas. He was a soldier, and he trained me as such.” Whether the name was familiar to the man or not, she wouldn’t know. Keltor hadn’t been in the special operations, not that Valry knew at least. Then again, not everyone liked to boast they were on the special operations. Sometimes it was more important to keep the matter quiet. If everyone understood who worked as what as a soldier, bedtime stories got a little harder to tell because others wanted to hear those tails from the special operations. And sometimes that simply was not a good idea.

Bane Haseful looked awfully tired. That made Valry grit her teeth gently, not hard enough to notice but scrutiny would show a tension in her jaw. Should she say what she had to? Or ask if it would be better for her to return in the next day, when the general had had time to rest his strained and tired eyes? She had to say something quick, or look like a fool standing in silence in front of the general. How stupid would that be? Stand there and give information but not your purpose? And that’s what made up the woman’s mind. Might as well state the reason she was here. If the conversation allowed, maybe she could offer to return tomorrow to speak to the general.

“Sir, I came here to ask if there was any chance of loaning my services to the Special Operations.” Bold statement. As far as he knew, she was thinking highly of herself. Well, maybe she could mention Malak in the conversation as well. Later. Near future?

Her hand dropped to Orak’s head unconsciously.