This wont hurt a bit (DLA)

[Miri Mojito]

Many celebrations were going on in the DLA compound today, as today was a very good day. Not only had the resistance fighters managed to stick a helluva large thorn in the sith's side, they also managed to save their new leader Dutch from an impending death. Today DLA was the place to be. All throughout the upper chambers loud yelling and cheering could be heard as people celebrated the safe return of their comrades. Down below the main level however another story was unfolding, one of pain and frustration. In fact the pained yells seemed to drown out the noise from the level above. It was immediately followed up by a large amount of cussing, and a calm cool metallic voice.

"Now Miss Styx I need you to hold still while i finish the procedure..." The calm cool voice belonged to Surge, the DLA Medical droid. He was talking of course to Nikki Styx, a recent inductee into the DLA's ranks. She had been hurt during the rescue operation, while nothing life threatening it did require some immediate medical attention. A roque blaster bolt had grazed her exposed mid riff, and cut a neat wound into her soft green skin. "Im holdin as still as i can... CONSIDERIN I WAS SHOT!" Nikki ended her sentence yelling at the droid now. For a moment she looked as though she would destroy the metal thing now holding an instrument needed to staple the wound closed.

With out responding Surge immediatly pushed the devise onto Nikki's wound. With a woosh thump, another staple was added and the wound closed up a little more. Instantly Nikki let out another yell followed by more cusing. "SON OF A BANTHA THAT HURTS...why cant you numb the area first?" Most people would easily be able to hear the frustration in the Samuacs voice but surge carried on almost oblivious to it. "Oh Miss Styx you have another wound aside from this grazie here? I should greatly like to see it for this hardly counts as being shot." Nikki turned her head to look at the droid now, had that been some kinda crack? had he actually been making fun of her? Someone needs a good memory wipe she thought now to herself. She lay on a table now with the medical droid standing over her right side. On her left a neat pile of common clothing lay neatly folded and stacked, as Surge had insisted that for sterility reasons she remove them. All that hid her womanly form from the views of anyone else who might be there now was a thin paper sheet. All in all the entire procedure took 10 minutes, even with Nikki's complaining.

"There you are Miss Styx, good as new, or as good as you'll ever be. Though i must say i thought you mandalorians were alot tougher." Though he was incapable of having a sarcastic tone, anyone could tell that the remark used was one directed to poke fun at her. Nikki Sat up in a flash not worrying as her paper cover fell to the floor. A loud clang rank out as she slapped the droid accross his face. Being that he was in fact a droid, Surge barely even moved with the impact, nor did he show any sign of anger over the action. "Now Miss Styx, If you don't mind putting your clothes on I do beleiev you have a visitor" Not a moment passed after he finished speaking that he walked off to tend to another patient, no doubt to talk down to him as well.

Suddenly Nikki became aware that the paper sheet that once covered her was now on the floor."DONT LOOK..." she shouted as she rolled off the table to her left. WHile trying to hide her frame from prying eyes she reached up above her to the table that held her clothes and slowly pulled them down to her. Her civillian clothing consisted of a white sleevless V collared shirt and a pair of casual grey knee length short pants. The lack of sleeves and full legs were due to her bad habbit of shredding clothing with the spikes that extended from her body.

It took her only a minute or two to manage getting dressed while hiding herself as best as she could. But once done she promptly stood up and began walking towards the main door of the infirmiry. Behind her she could hear Surge getting in one more quick comment to her. "I hope to see you in here again real soon Miss Styx." Nikki hissed a few choice words under her breath towards the droid, before she managed to end up in ear shot of some other DLA members. Interestingly enough she had not met many of them, and only a couple had even seen her without her helmet, she wondered now if they knew who she was.

[Otterling]

Kabira made her way down to the medical bay, a greasy rag plastered over the long thin cut on her left forearm. She’d been trying to replace one of the large shock absorbing springs on a rig that had gotten damaged in the rescue but the part had slipped loose and recoiled on her. For Kabira, it was just another in a long line of routine scrapes, cuts and bruises she sported on a routine basis and she was more annoyed than actually hurt. She had started her evening the same as everyone else, celebrating loudly in one of the many large groups that were even still drinking and cheering but like all social events, she found she couldn’t sit still for long. She felt awkward in those situations. While Kabira had grown up with the Sampson boys and a few others here she recognized, she didn’t know many of the newcomers or those who had joined the DLA before she had arrived and Dutch, Al, Mo, and Lily were surrounded by everyone else.

Kabira had opted to do what she normally did in those moments, go find a place that she knew she felt at home: the garage. Now she was half wishing she’d just stayed at the party. She stepped into the medbay and around a small group of DLA members, in her search for Surge and almost collided with a strange looking woman she didn’t recognize. Kabira had never been offworld and spent very little time in the cities near her home so it took her by surprise to see a green skinned humanoid with bony spikes protruding in strange places. She stopped short, her eyes wide, and blinked a few times before she realized it was rude to stare.
“Uh…sorry. Didn’t mean to run into you.” Kabira glanced down and noted the burn and blood stains on the woman’s side. They were obviously the marks of a blaster shot but she couldn’t recall seeing the woman at the fight. Kabira offered the strange woman a friendly if shy smile. “Hope you aren’t hurt too bad. What a fight, huh?”

“Ah, Kabira. What an absolute shock it is to see you here. I see you applied your own field dressing. It’s a wonder you haven’t died of poisoning yet. Would you like to take a seat or should I just spray you down with bacta and send you on your way?” Surge appeared from seemingly nowhere and offered up a thick wad of clean gauze which Kabira snatched out of his grip.

“I’m fine. Thanks for asking, Surge. Just you watch it. One’a these days I’m gonna re-program you.” Kabira snarled at the droid. She tucked her bloody and grease stained handkerchief back into a pocket on her baggy overalls and used one of the gauze pads to wipe away the blood and grease on her arm. “S’not that bad anyway. Just a scratch. Just gimme somethin’ to clean it out with and I’ll get outta your hair.”

It was impossible for a droid to snort and yet Kabira was fairly sure that’s what Surge did. He made a strange strangled sort of noise and then grabbed her wrist and sprayed her arm down with a thick translucent liquid. “Yes, and then you’d be back in a week with a major infection. You spend more time in this facility than is necessary for any one human being as it is. I’ll be setting up your own ward soon if this keeps up. Now keep this clean and for the love of hyperspace, keep it out of an engine for a full twenty-four hours.” With that, Surge turned and headed off to find someone else to harass, leaving Kabira to stick her tongue out at him as she slapped the gauze over her now sticky and wet arm.

The young mechanic turned back to the odd woman she’d been talking to earlier and rolled her eyes. “If he gets any snarkier, I’m gonna stick a bug in his memory circuit that’ll have’im talkin’ with a lisp,” Kabira growled. “So what’s your name? You headed back up to the party and such?”

[kt]

(I apologize to all of you for this rather craptastic post, it's been awhile since i posted....anything really so please bear with me as i try and regain some of my made up talent xD )

Oooh what a party what a party. Xander had joined the DLA just in time to save the head honcho from the sith and now they were celebrating in a very big way. It had been quite awhile actually since the zeltron man had cut loose as much as he had, his depression having gotten the better of him up till recently. It wasn't until Xander oh so gracefully slipped down the flight of stairs he was descending and ended up with his vibro knife getting loose and lodging itself in his side. The wound could've been worse, the knife miraculously missed his vitals and instead stayed deep in his muscle tissue.

"SITH SPIT!" Xander cursed out loud as he gritted his teeth and pulled the bloody dagger from his body, wincing as he slowly stood up, blood leaking from his wound.

Xander quickly ripped a part of his sleeve off and pressed the material against the wound, applying pressure to make sure he didn't die of blood loss before he could reach the med bay. The zeltron man then began the seemingly endless walk to the DLA's doc bot Surge, the group's babe of a head doc Lily still enjoying the party, leaving Surge the only doctor left to treat the still wounded men that participated in the rescue. It took a good long while but Xander finally arrived at the entrance to the med bay "....*pant pant* Hey Surge....can i get some help...?" Xander panted as he fell into a nearby chair and lifted his almost too tight shirt to examine the rather messy slit in his abdomen.

The droid turned towards Xander as he took a seat, making what sounded to the zeltron, like disappointed clucking noises. "I figured i'd be seeing you here atleast once Mr. Seraph. Either you've managed to finally annoy the populace of women here and paid for it or you've found yourself a rather wild one to rough you up." Surge examined the wound and sprayed it with bacta, washing the blood off and disinfecting the knife wound and pointed to the surgery table.

Xander just rolled his eyes as he chuckled in a strained sort of way as he got up and hobbled over to the examination table and laid down, taking his shirt off in the process so Surge could stitch it up. "Took a fall down some stairs is all, surprised big guy?" Xander smiled at the doc bot in front of him as he waited for the needle to hit his flesh.

It wasn't until he laid down on the bed did he notice two girls standing by the door, one was rather young, human, and another was of a race that was a new sight to Xander "Huh....this should be iiiiiiinteresting indeed..." the young zeltron thought to himself as he gave the pair a small smile before yelping in pain. "Ow! Damnit! i already have one hole in me, i don't need another one man." Xander winced as Surge finished up, but not before adding a very snarky comment or two.

"There, all done. Try not to inflict further harm on yourself Seraph." The bot then turned back to his other patients. "So....um......nice to meet you two....the name's Xander, for what it's worth." With a bit of work, Xander managed to get himself into a sitting position, his well toned upper body showing for all to see with a brand new scar on his side.

[Dutch]

Little did the DLA members in the medbay know that they were not the only ones in the room. Dutch lay on a cot with a recently opened eye- his other still swollen shut from the weeks of beatings he had taken-Nikki's screaming and cussing having woken him up from a nap he took after some time in a kolto tank. He lay there without a sound, his breathing was slow and steady- a man in control. Though the calm exterior was a lie, sure he was ecstatic to have survived the ordeal, to live to fight another day, but there was still that pit in his heart. He had watched his own father slowly die, unable to help, unable to comfort, the only thing he could give was company at the end. Erle's grinning bearded visage passed through Dutch's mind, his father's trademark wink accompanying the grin as he thought of his dad.

A slight stinging filled Dutch's eyes, his lips were drawn in and his one open eye fluttered to keep it from leaking. He drew a slow breath to calm his body and slowly sat up, heaving his broken arm that was covered in a heavy kolto brace onto his lap. Luckily for him, the break wasn't a terrible one- Surge quoted only a few days of wearing the brace before Dutch was better. Besides the brace, Dutch's clothes lay on the arm of a nearby chair, but he was hidden behind a curtain- so his privacy was given. Nikki wasn't so lucky. Dutch wasn't much of a xenophile- but he did give credit where it was due. He slowly slid off the cot to his feet before he grabbed his pants and slid them on. Dutch then slid then grabbed his jacket, the worn and cracked rancor leather like a second skin to him. He forwent his ripped and bloodied shirt and instead just put the jacket on, but still left his broken arm out of the jacket's sleeve- it wouldn't fit.

With a soft padding sound he strolled around the curtain, Surge being the first person to see Dutch. The droid turned with a whir and clacked over to him, a scanner spun out from Surge's forearm and swept over Dutch. He didn't blame the droid for being cautious- he looked like hell. A broken arm, a swollen eye, several new scars, a split lip, a couple bumps on his head and a red ring around his neck were the noose was. Dutch chuckled- a sort of announcement that he was there to the others.

"Y'know Surge, I can only get better at this point."

Grunted Dutch, a grin touched his lips as he spoke. The droid did not respond- though a whir sounded peculiarly like a scoff. He looked at his comrades in the medbay- all of which he knew naturally. Nikki had been a recent acquaintance, he had never heard of the Samuac before her- and he had yet to spend much time with her. Yet I've already seen green knockers, that's a first. Though Dutch as he stifled a snicker. The second was Kabira, sweet little Kabira. She was a doll, one whom Dutch adored. He had watched for a time now as Kabira had worked her butt off for the DLA- and couldn't help but notice her behavior around his little brother, Al. The final person was a Zeltron man he had seldom come across, but knew his first name.

"Nikki, Kabira, Xander. Good to see that ya'll are in mostly one piece."

Said Dutch with a nod to each person as he said their name. Despite being seen as a simple farmer, Dutch had always been good with names, and his strategies with helping the DLA at his father's side had shown he was more than just a simple farmer. A slight pang hit his heart at that thought. No longer was he helping the DLA- he was leading it. Dutch was no longer his father's 'right hand man', he was the man. Dutch gulped at this thought- he had never truly lead before, but if he was even half the man Erle was- he'd have to do good. But he turned his mind to other things- the people around him for example. He placed a rough palmed hand on Xanders bare shoulder and looked at his recently sealed wound.

"Nice one there Xan, that'll scare nicely."

Dutch commented, a slight chuckle came from him afterwords. There was no denying it, this insane, suicidal mission to save him left the DLA with its share of wounded, but by the Force, it seemed no casualties. He smiled warmly at the two girls that stood across from the two men, a smug grin that only Dutch could be known for.

[Miri Mojito]

Nikkis eyes narrowed as she looked over this new woman. Her eyes eventually coming to rest on the wound on the womans arm. By the looks of the woman and the state of the rag used to cover the wound Nikki made the deduction that she was workin in the garage when the incident happened. Instantly she took a step back and usheered the wounded woman into the medical wing. No harm done hun..." She hesitated for a moment now at the womans kind remark in regards to her own wound. but quickly spoke again. "Ill be alright... had my fair share o scrapes..." Before she could say anything else surge had rushed over to begin his treatment.

Nikki smiled as the woman bickered with the droid in much the same fashion she had just done. From the way things seemed this droid had an unagreeable attitude. Even beter was the way the woman played down her own wound and only taking a quick shot of some odd fluid and a fresh piece of gauze. Suddenly she was done and had turned back to Nikki. She had made a remark about giving the droid a lisp and asked if she would head back. Nikki smiled and turned her gaze t the floor. "A lisp would be an improvement me thinks..." SHe hesitated again several moments before speaking again. "I dont think i will be goin to the party... I dont much fit in around civillians." She of course was refrenceing to her mandalorian heritage, but there was no way for anyone to know unless they knew who she was.

Not moments later man entered the med bay panting. He had an obvious injury to his side. Nikki could see little of it as he grasped at it, that and the tattered clothing did a good job of concealing the wound. Nikki took a couple steps back to allow him access to the room. She noticed immediatly that he was a Zeltron by his pink hued skin tone. She made a dnot to be cautious around him, despite the fact that they were apparently on the same side she would need to watch out for any lapse in her own judgement, hormones were a terrible thing.

Nikki watched now as Surge gave him the same snarky treatment, and fixed him up with expert percision. For a moment she stod staring at him, still thinking, debating on how she should act. Nikki knew that natuarlly most would automatically mistrust or avoid her if they found out what she was. But then again she had a job to do and making friends got in the way. Still though she wanted to be polite, and see how everyone was before she did anything. As the man introduced himself she looked up at him and smiled. But before she could say anything a new voice caught her attention.

Immediatly Nikki stood at attention, recognising the voice that belonged to the New leader of the DLA, Dutch. He had recieved several injuries and up to this point had been unconscious in the med wing. Now though he had awoken, no doubt due to all the comotion and had now addressed the three of them. Once addressed Nikki immediatly responded. "Yes sir... Its just a minor wound. I wont let it slow me down" To most who had not known her this behavior would seem strange. But given her unique mandalorian military background she had been programmed to address clan leaders, or in this case Dutch, with unparalelled respect.

[Otterling]

Kabira had opened her mouth to respond to the strange green woman’s statement that she didn’t fit in around civilians, the young mechanic understood that well enough since the only ones in the DLA she had yet to really get close to besides Dutch and Al were the vehicles in the garage, but her words were cut short by the heavy thump of a body against the doorway to the medbay. She turned to see an extremely handsome man leaning against the frame of the door panting and bleeding. It was, apparently, a day for new discoveries, as this was the second new species Kabira had ever seen. The striking pink hue of the man’s skin contrasted sharply with the dark crimson of his hair and when he smiled and spoke to Surge, she noted that his teeth were a gleaming white.

A faint flush crept up over Kabira’s cheeks as the man walked past her and she pulled instinctively away from him, unsure what to think. He looked strangely familiar for some reason that she couldn’t put her finger on and yet she was positive she’d never seen a red person before. Kabira averted her eyes sharply as the man lifted his shirt. The thin fabric was clinging to him in ways that made Kabira’s stomach flop nervously. Her mind turned back to the only other person that made her feel like that and instantly her teenage brain put the two images together to present her with a vision of Al in that too tight shirt. Kabira’s whole face went three shades of red and she reached up to pull her cap down till it covered most of her face. She would have to make a point of staying away from this guy. It was bad enough with Al distracting her every time he walked past in the garage. If this man came into her workspace, between him and Al, she’d NEVER get anything done.

The man introduced himself as Xander in a smooth and surprisingly sensual voice that made the hair on Kabira’s arms stand up. Oh yes…she was going to need to avoid this man…a LOT. With her face turned down and her hat pulled over her eyes, Kabira didn’t notice the entrance of Dutch onto the scene until she heard his voice chiding Surge. Her head snapped up and her eyes went wide, a grin splitting her face for a moment as she forgot to keep her more girlish emotions in check. Kabira couldn’t help the wince that showed on her face though as she took in the red ring around Dutch’s neck, the swollen eye, the cast on his arm, and the myriad cuts, scrapes, and bruises that littered every inch of exposed skin. Surge had done what he could of course but time and additional treatments would be needed to clear up the rest.

Kabira felt her throat tighten in spite of herself. Dutch, Mo, Lily, and Al were really the only family she had left now. She had lost her biological father only a few months back and now she AND Dutch had lost another father; and yet here Dutch was, all smiles and sarcasm like usual. Kabira didn’t believe it for a second. She knew the cost the Sith had wrought on them and she knew full well what her own feelings had been when she’d found the mangled body of her father.

Kabira was caught off guard by the way the woman next to her, the one Dutch had referred to as Nikki, snapped to attention and her eyes went to the oddly rigid woman. Why in the world was this woman standing that way? It was just Dutch. Kabira eyed her warily and quirked an eyebrow. Her gaze went from Dutch to Nikki and back. Did I miss something? Kabira thought. “Hey…uh…relax. You’re gonna pull your wound open tensing up like that. You’re wound tighter than a suspension spring.” Kabira offered the other woman an open and pleasant smile. For all appearances, it seemed that Nikki was as uncomfortable around people she didn’t know as Kabira herself often felt so her heart went out to the older woman. She could definitely relate.

Kabira turned her attention back to Dutch and did her best to ignore the half naked man sitting next to him. She offered the man a half-hearted “Hi Xander” before marching up to Dutch and poking a single grease covered finger into his chest, albeit very lightly so as not to hurt him. “And what do you think YOU’RE doing outta bed?? You know what Lily’d do to me if she found you walking around already and me not even trying to get you to lay back down. You gotta be more careful! You’re hurt and you need rest and…”Kabira’s words jumbled together into one stream of barely intelligible gibberish as she listed off the ways Lily and Mo would string her up if anything happened to Dutch while she was around but her tirade died off and she tucked her chin down to hide the frightened tears that had formed against her will. She’d seen how bad off Dutch was when they’d rescued him and had since been worried that a father wouldn’t be the only family she’d wind up losing that day. She wrapped her fists into the supple leather of Dutch’s jacket and growled up at him from under the brim of her hat, keeping her face hidden from view.

“You scared the crap outta me. Don’t you ever scare me like that again…not ever. We’ve been worried sick and we weren’t sure if…” Kabira’s voice went tight and cracked. From under her hat she stifled a sniffle and then leaned forward to rest her forehead against Dutch’s chest. She paused there for only a moment just to reassure herself that her big brother was still there and that his heart was still beating before she pulled away. She wiped roughly at the tears that had slipped past her defenses and cleared her throat, casting a glare around the room just to make sure no one had gotten the mistaken idea that she was gonna go all weepy and weak on them and then swiftly but lightly punched Dutch in his uninjured shoulder as she reutned to her more comfortable method of showing affection.

“Jerk.”

[kt]

(sorry for the delay, here the post be, still, not all that great xD)

Xander was now glancing over Nikki and Kabira with a bit more interest, thinking about more....racey things about Nikki more so than Kabira, the latter being just a smidge young for Xander to feel right doing anything with. Despite this fact, it didn't stop him from doing a bit of "harmless" flirting.

"So.....come here often hun?" Xander asked Nikki as he let out a bit of his pheremones. "Aaaaaaand you want me to put something on i'm sure, sorry bout this."Xander gave a sincere apology to the Kabira, noting her increasingly red face as Surge scoffed in the corner. The zeltron's golden eyes shifted to the man at his side who had just appeared, it was the big man himself, Dutch.

"Yeah it will. Nice to see yer up and...well.....god you look like crap big guy." Xander laughed as he patted Dutch on the back, halting his pheremone flow as he did so.

The zeltron just watched as Nikki saluted all military like and laughed at Kabira's comments about being wound tight. "I can help ya relax if you want hun, it'd be no problem at all." Xander gave Nikki a wink and a smile, showing his perfect teeth. Kabira then ran and pulled the concerned little sister thing with Dutch. "Hey big man, you should tell the girl that she'd look good in a dress." a bigger smile formed as a small laugh bubbled from Xander's lips.

With a sigh, the handsome Zeltron hopped off the table and examined his newly closed up wound. "You look like you could use a drink mate, here." Xander pulled out his trusty flask and drank from it, taking in the insanely potent homeade concoction. He then handed it off to Dutch and Kabira. "To good health?"

[Dutch]

Dutch chuckled at Nikki's formality and shook his head slightly. He heard Surge scoff behind him and could hear the droid shuffle to a procedure table and start to sanitize it. Dutch patted Xander's shoulder and leaned against the table on which the Zeltron sat.

"Please Nikki, Dutch will do. Most of us have been with one another for far too long, and have seen far too much of each other to use formalities toots. Relax, go grab a drink, maybe find a little company for the night."

The young man said with a wink not unlike his late father. The party was a good thing, for more than one reason. It boosted the moral of the faithful members of the DLA, gave them a chance for some rest and relaxation, and was the Sampson's way of thanking everyone. He beamed back at Kabira as he saw that she noticed him, her grin almost as addicting as Al's. But it didn't last, he could see her eyes trace over his body, not in any sexual manner, but in a concerned way. Dutch noted her expression, and made a mental note to cover himself up as much as possible before seeing Al again.

He was surprised when after a moment the small woman stormed over to him and placed a single, greasy finger on his chest. Dutch blinked down confusedly as she went on her rant, only able to catch a few of her words. She was concerned, he knew that much- seemed the women from the Estate were just as overprotective of him as he was of them. But when she broke down to tears and grabbed his jacket- he realized this was more than just overprotective, the poor girl was afraid for his sake.

Dutch stayed silent as Kabira spoke again, her voice strained and fearful. As her forehead hit his chest his good arm came up to gently cradle the back of Kabira's head, his touch brotherly and gentle- almost as if he was afraid any more pressure would crack the girl's skull. Without a word Dutch lowered his head to rest on top of Kabira's, his cast clad arm moved and rested on Kabira's back, his own eyes closing as he embraced his surrogate sister. When she pulled away he opened his eye and grinned down at the little blond.

His right hand moved to cup Kabira's face as he wiped away a tear and some grease that was on her cheek, a chuckle slipped from him as he thought how Kabira needed a rag to wipe up. But Dutch restrained from making a comment, even he knew when the time wasn't right. He accepted the light punch she gave before he uttered

"Blondie."

In response. His eyes turned to Xander as the pink-tinged man spoke. For an alien, and for a man, even Dutch had to admit he had the looks- almost an exotic feel to him. Dutch laughed lightly at his comment about how he looked, a nod acknowledging that indeed he did look like hell. He said nothing as Xander flirted with Nikki- Dutch was all for free love and lust- in moderation. But at his comment about Kabira in a dress, Dutch scoffed and shook his head. A grin traced his lips as he beamed down at Kabira.

"Kabira will always look her best covered head to toe in grease and in mechanics gear- and I'm sure Al would agree."

At Al's name Dutch winked at the girl. Even a bullwha fish could tell how the girl felt, but he wouldn't truly intervene, natural progression was the best way. Dutch grinned and nodded at Xander as he offered the flask, the man brought the drink to his lips and took a draft before he swallowed the fiery liquid. He didn't take a moment to see if Kabira took it, his comlink went off with a slight buzz. He grabbed the device before the switch was thumbed.

"Dutch- we're almost ready, we need you to come help us finish. I sent a friend to help."

Glitche's velvety voice came over the com, Dutch tilted his head just as the slight form of Candi peered past the door into the medbay at Dutch. He chuckled and scratched the back of his head with his good arm.

"Well guys, looks like I gotta peace for a bit- Glitch'll get ya'll on your coms in a bit."

Said Dutch sheepishly as Candi sauntered over to him and placed an arm around his hip, ready to help the wounded man out. He gave a smile to Nikki, Kabira and Xander before he began to slowly move out of the medbay with Candi. He didn't tell them where he was going- not many knew what was in the works for the next day after the party. Erle's body had been recovered by Nikki herself, Dutch immensely grateful for the retrieval. But a dead body would do no good on it's own- Dutch and Al needed to lay their father to rest in the traditional Sampson way...

{Dutch exits}

[Miri Mojito]

Nikki continued to stand at attention for several more moments even after Dutch had told her to relax. She was unsure as to why she would have been told such a thing, or even as to why anyone would want her to relax. Perhaps it had been a trick, to see if she would hold her ground. Never the less despite her attempt to hold fast, she found the pain in her side was quickly begining to overpower her soldier like posture. With a small sigh she went from an at attention stance, to a more relaxed at ease kind of pose. Her legs where shoulder width apart, and her hands where now crossed behind her back. She had also allowed her head to fall forward a bit so that she could properly look around at everyone.

She had been told to relax not only by Dutch, but also by Kabira, though he concern seemed to be with Nikki's now stitched wound. Though the concern was appreciated, Nikki felt unsure as to how to properly respond to a gesture like this. Sure enough in her younger years at the temple she had learned that such gestures were often responded to with thanks, but in he larger portion of her life she had found little place for such concern. After a moment or so she had smiled at the woman and nodded her head. The Zeltron Xander had also asked if she had come here often. No doubt it was a pickup line of sorts, though its literal meaning was also of little meaning. "No... I can't say i come here often..." Her tone was sharp, but not sarcastic or harsh.

Now she had turned her attention now to the man that would be her commander. She smiled now in an attempt to show that she was in fact relaxed, though anyone could see she was still coiled like a spring. "No I don't drink very well si... errr Dutch" She had almost slipped up and called him sir again, but much to her own satisfaction had caught herself and instead called him by his name. She would have little chance to say anything else to him, though as he had quickly left after recieving a message on his comm. As quickly as he had appeared he was gone, leaving Nikki, Xander, and Kabira alone in the md bay again.

With Dutch gone Nikki seemed to revert back to the way she had been before he had awoken. Dropping out of stance all togetehr to stand in a more civilan manner. She turned to Kabira now and smiled. "He your brother then?" She looked almost puzzled now, being that she had been informed that DUtch had no sisters. It was part of her ways to learn everything she could about a target, be it rescue or assisnation, so as to better understand how they might respond and act. It also gave her teh tactical edge if she needed to use ones family to achieve either objective.

With that out of the way Nikki turned to face Xander and looked him over again. This time she was moreso taking in the idea that he was in fact a Zeltron. Lord knows it had been years since she had last seen one. "I havent seen any Zel's in a few years.. I didnt think yall got out this far." While her statement had sounded racially biased, it was not supposed to be. In truth she was just more confused as to why a Zeltron was here in a possible combat scenario. As far as she knew they were not so much a combative species.

[Otterling]

Kabira tried not to let it show at all that she was touched by Dutch’s display of affection, though she would have eagerly broken anyone else’s fingers if they’d tried something like that. She accepted the good natured ‘blondie’ remark with a smirk and turned her attention to Xander when he spoke again. She let out a growl at the statement that she’d look good in a dress and her hands clenched into fists at her sides, her shoulders hunching like an angry cat that’d been rubbed the wrong way. “I’d like ta see what army you’re gonna bring to try, buster.” Her demeanor switched gears entirely at Dutch’s comment, however, and she flushed brilliant crimson while her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.

“I…I..I have no…I mean…why would HE care what I’m wearing? And..and, even if he did, why would I care? I mean, not about the clothing, why would I care what he thinks about what I’m wearing? Cause I care what I’m wearing, only well, I mean, not really but that’s neither here nor…” Kabira paused, having thoroughly even confused herself now, and decided that perhaps the best bet would be to just go with the basics. “SHUT UP, DUTCH.”

Kabira snatched the flask up from him and took a big swig from it but it was pride alone that forced her to swallow. Her sinuses suddenly burned like someone had lit a match in her nose and she was certain that she now had third degree burns down her throat. She coughed and sputtered a bit but managed to act for all the world like she wasn’t choking on the extremely strong liquid. Her eyes turned to Dutch again as he flipped on his com-link and she went still, some small part of her hoping that it wasn’t more bad news. She couldn’t handle that right now. Glitch’s voice drifted over the com and Kabira couldn’t help quirking an eyebrow at the cryptic message she’d relayed. She had no idea what that was all about but she knew her place enough to know that if Dutch wanted to elaborate, he would.

The young woman’s attention was drawn back over her shoulder, following Dutch’s gaze as Candi appeared around the doorway. Then, with a last cryptic message, Dutch was out the door. Kabira watched him go until he disappeared around the corner, a frown tingeing her lips, until Nikki’s voice cut back over her own thoughts. “Huh?” Kabira turned to look at the green skinned woman she’d only just met. It took a moment for her to figure out the best answer to the question she’d been posed. Was Dutch her brother? She’d have to say yes but not in the normal sense. “He’s my adopted brother,” she settled on at last, “We’re all kinda orphans now, aren’t we?” There was a sadness and an age that belied her young years in that response. Kabira, like many in the DLA, had seen her fair share of misery.

Never one to dwell on such things for long, Kabira seemed to come back to herself and she smiled at Nikki, holding up the offending flask to see if the other woman wanted some before recalling that the strange woman had already refused Dutch’s invitation to go drink. Kabira frowned at the flask and handed it back to Xander with a look that said she wished him all the luck in the world on drinking the rest of it. Nikki’s words caught Kabira by surprise. “Zels?” she asked curiously, her gaze going back to Xander. She’d never heard the term used before.

[kt]

Xander watched with amusement as Dutch commented about his younger brother Allistair, looking as Kabira's face got red and her words flustered. "Oh to be young and in love..." Xander sighed, a big toothy grin on his face as he tried to hold back his laughter as Kabira metaphorically died drinking the alcohol. His attention then turned back to Nikki "Now honey, what fun would it be to simply be content to just my home planet when there is sooooooo much of the galaxy to be explored?" Xander opened his arms as he said this for emphasis, the tone suggesting that his reason was the most obvious thing in the universe.

The pink tinged man then turned his attention to Kabira "Yes honey, i'm a Zeltron, or "Zel" for short, we are a fun loving species that doesn't know the definition of negativity.....even though....uh...well....i do heheheheh..." a small chuckle left his lips as he rubbed the back of his head. "With this being said, it makes me an expert on emotions, reading them especially." A bigger grin working it's way up on his mouth as his brilliant gold eyes scanned the grease covered girl's face "Although, i don't even need to be a zeltron to know you got the hots for the little big boss man." The zeltron gave her a wink and pulled out a small vial of clear liquid, tossing it to Kabira. "If you ever need any.....help, just give him a bit of that, it's called Elixer of Infatuation. It's well.....plain and simple it's kinda like a love potion.... althought i doubt that you'll need it 'cause i've seen him look at ya a time or two before." Xander laughed a bit and took a swig of his brew. "If ya ever want any advice, just ask." And with that, the zeltron man pumped out a good bit of his pheremones and strode past the two girls, taking but a moment to look at Nikki "See you around babe." A single finger carressed her jawline as he left the med bay, a cheerful song being whistled as he strode back up to the party.

(Xander exit)

[Deceit *Drinker of Jawa-Juice*]

( Yeah, so this is my intro post for Raugh. )

"Freighter, you have diverted from your main course, this is your only warning. Return to the established flight path or you will be shot down."

For a moment the freighter didn't listen, flying even further away from the landing pad that the Sith had set coordinates to. Raugh Haulthe, the only crew member on the whole ship, took a quick scan of the systematics, focusing mostly on the altitude and distance from the Sith base. Thanks to the blockade, what he was doing was a near death mission. With the shake of his head he grinned. The ship had gotten far enough for maximum effect of his plan. He slowed the ship and turned toward the base. The Sith would relax now, just a little. With a sigh, Raugh set the auto-pilot toward the designated landing pad, except it wasn't aimed for the landing pad. The Sith didn't yet know this, but the path was set at full speed for the Sith hangar near it-a crash course. With speed he quickly set a count-down for twenty seconds. The freighter started accellerating, but it wouldn't move too fast until the twenty second count-down finished.

Crouching to all fours, the Defel started to run through his ship, out of the bridge and across a few small hangars until he reached the pod bay, where three rows of life-pods, three each, sat. He went to the rear of one and quickly stepped in, making sure all of his equipment was with him. Only a few moments after he got comfortable a large glass door descended, covering the pod. A moment later it pressurized. Raugh nervously gripped the hand-holds tightly, his sharp teeth sliding together as he set his jaw.

What he was doing was risky. He'd tricked the Sith into thinking he was bringing a weapons cache to them, but in reality, his ship was full of fake weapons, and he planned on jumping ship. He'd heard of a group called the Dantoine Liberation Force; after hearing of the Sith Blockade he'd always sympathized with them. With the recent inactivity in the Will of the Force, he'd adressed the situation, and decided that he would be temporarily leaving the Will, and moving to Dantooine to join their cause. His spies hadn't been able to figure out the location of their base. Luckily, he could use the force to sense out the locations of their life force, he'd certainly be able to tell whether he was sensing Sith or civilians, and a significant concentration of life unmarked or in a harsh landscape would likely be it. As he'd flown in, he'd already been searching for towns. He was very smart, and had a good memory of the lay of the land. He seen a farms and a small town, and noted where they would be. Any concentration in a location that he didn't think was a town would likely be a hidden base.

Basically, he was looking to get lucky.

The ship suddenly bucked as it took speed. From the outside of the ship, nine holes opened up, and smoke rose out from them as nine pods exploded out in different directions, as the ship was designed specifically to do. It instantly threw the Sith commander off, who was closely watching the Freighter's approach, he slammed one fist on the window in front of him and shouted, "Target and blast every one of those pods out of the sky!"

The anti-air-craft weapons began taking aim immediately, as well as a ships up in the blockade. Before anybody could shoot at the pods, however, two large orbs shot out the sides of the ship, "What are those?" The commander asked furiously. A moment later, they all knew. Large flares went off in the sky, blinding anyone looking at them and distracting the gun-men, allowing most of the pods to flow through the air safely. Most of them. Red blaster fire light the skies as the ground turrets opened fire, targeting as many pods as they could. One landed close, and didn't stand a chance, being blasted so bad that its outer shells simply collapsed and the pod went spinning off trajectory, right into one of the turrets, killing the Sith shooter and immobilizing the anti-aircraft.

Raugh felt the g-forces pulling at his stomach and body, his fur sticking up high, along with his cheeks. He closed his eyes and tensed up, bracing for an impact. And certainly there was one, but not the one he expected, as some of the shots fired grazed his pod. It went spinning off trajectory as well, but in an opposite direction of the Sith, further off toward a cliff base by the shore. When Raugh's freighter exploded, he didn't notice. When the pod did hit, he didn't notice. He was unconscious.

~*~

All he could see was the sky at first, and Raugh's first thought was, "Pretty..." Which he thought enough to voice. Then he tried to move, but found that his body didn't agree. He lay there. After a few minutes of simply willing it, he saw more than felt one arm reach forward, It stopped as it suddenly collided with something. He swiveled his eyes to look at what he had touched, since he only saw sky ahead of him, then realized it was just glass. "Oh." He murmured, suddenly remembering where he was. He sniffed, and gasped at the smell of blood.

He rose up quickly, and knocked his head against the glass. It was only then he became aware that the pod was laying on its back-side, when it should have landed vertically. "Hunh." He murmured, figuring he must not have been too lucky, must have been shot. So where, then, did he land. He reached forward and grabbed a latch, twisting it and pulling it out. The sound of air pressure releasing and the glass door exploding out was evident. For a moment, Raugh just lay there. Finally, he sat up, feeling like he had been laying in a coffin. His top half came up out of the pod, and was met immediately with a blaster rifle muzzle.

Raugh blinked a few times. He was pretty much defenseless. Numb, battered, bruised, and bleeding out the head with an impact wound ( and probably a concussion ) he really couldn't fight back. He was faced with certain death at point blank ranged, the rifle of good quality, a Sith weapon. He looked up at the wielder of said weapon, and with a confused face asked, "DLA?" The man did not look like a Sith, wearing no trooper armor, nor the hardened look of a killer. Just the determined look of a rebel.

"Hm?" The man asked, then looked to his left, where a woman who looked much like a farmer stood. She shrugged, "Take him in, I guess."

Raugh rose one finger and said, "I am from the Will of the Force, a grey Jedi who seeks to aid your cause. Here, I'll show-" He was going to say, "Show you my lightsaber."

But the stock of a rifle to the face will stop you no matter what your saying.

~*~

"Ouch." Was the next conscious thought that ran through Raugh's head. The next was, "Am I blind?" He opened his eyes, but saw only darkness. Then he felt cloth. A blindfold. He used the force, and sensed many life-forms around. Their base?

~*~

Two DLA scouts suddenly burst into the medical lab, holding the furry body of Raugh in their grip, stepping through the doorway and shouting, "We found this one shooting down right near us from a freighter ship in a pod. Says he's a Jedi, he's got a lightsaber and some basical medical gear. Got shot down, and busted up quite a bit, big gash in his head bleeding out. Somehow he knew about DLA, and he doesn't look like a spy, so we blindfolded him and carried him over."

( And that, as they say, is that. If you have any complaints or input, please place it in the suggestion box! *Holds up a trash-can* )

[Otterling]

((Modified since the Jedi is being removed.))

Kabira gaped open mouthed at Xander as he guessed quite correctly on her affections for Al and as he continued on offering advice and love potions, she blustered wordlessly and blushed almost as red as him. “That’s…I’m not…I mean…..I wouldn’t….and….you just……well…” She snapped her lips shut and gave him her best glare but it fell short of truly being angry when confronted with Xander’s charming smile. He really was cute and if it weren’t for the fact that he was a bit too old for her, Kabira had to admit she’d be finding it hard to not want to reach out and see if his hair really WAS as silky as it looked. As that thought ran through her head, she looked away quickly and put on the best façade she could manage that would make her look disinterested. She crossed her arms over her chest and hunched her shoulders, looking for all the world like a cat that had been rubbed the wrong way and as Xander sauntered out of the room, she managed to stick her tongue out at his receding back. She wasn’t about to let anyone else in that room know that his offers, both of them, were weighing heavily in her mind.

Kabira waited a few minutes after he left before waving a hasty goodbye to Nikki and rushing out herself. She didn't want to seem too eager to follow Xander where ever it was he was headed.