Private Calling Upon A Snowbird

[Evelyn Shaw]

As the conversation continued, Evelyn began to slowly walk around the room. Orion was too focused on Amea to pay her any attention. Certainly not enough to realize the Echani was constantly staring at him as she got a new angle on his face. It was only when it finally dawned on him, who ‘Kiera Vern’ truly was, that he looked her way. But the man was too panicked to really do much else than try and roll his chair backwards.

Standing just behind the man, Evelyn paused and raised an eyebrow towards Amea. That...talent she was putting on display was certainly something. Hell, the events of the past day had been particularly illuminating on why you don’t want to be on Amea’s bad side.

Orion was frozen in fear, but slowly seemed to regain his senses. He stepped back only to collapse back into his chair. Evelyn was right behind, having pushed the chair closer in order for it to happen. He went to stand up, but the Echani slammed a hand down atop each shoulder, holding him there.

“As you can see, Mr Vane. It’s of your best interest to confess to the initial crime…” With her face and thus expression concealed from Orion, Evelyn looked over at Amea and inclined her head slightly.

The Echani was very impressed. And oh, she had a whole new idea to make further use of it.

“Otherwise, well...you’ve seen Miss Vern’s talent. It really wouldn’t do for you to go down for that. You’re a smart man, you know what the correct choice is.”

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

A warm chuckle. “Yes, quite.” Amea continued to speak with words laced in malicious intent. “Now, I’m not an unreasonable woman, Mister Vane. I understand that we’re all creatures of habit. Gambling. Murder. Blackmail. These are the natural vices in the business that people like you and me are in, but…”

“... If your family so much as touch a single hair on my head, glance at me in a way that I don’t like.” Amea exhaled and spread her fingers before her to mimic an explosion. “Everything that you love, everything that you have built, is going to go down in an ungodly fucking firestorm the likes of which you have never seen.”

“Your name will be dragged through the ashes of your mistake, every last bridge you ever held dear turned into little more than a crater of charred memories and smoke.” She held her wrist up for him to see the device on it. “If this fails to read my pulse and biometrics for more than eight hours, it will leak all that I’ve seen here today to the rest of your family. And after that? Your so called vassals in other systems will be shown exactly what kind of loyalty that they can expect out of you and your family.”

The part about the biometrics was a blatant lie, but he didn’t have to know that.

“But, if you ensure that those hitmen and goon squads stay off my back, I will make sure that not only you, but your family as a whole, get to keep your pathetic little empire you’ve built.”

The man tried to speak, Amea raised her hand. "Ah ah ah! Not a single word out of your lips." With a nod towards towards the door as she glanced over at Evelyn. A good sign for them to leave. Amea took a step back, her index finger still lifted towards him as she continued with one more step and then another.

“Remember, not a fucking word.”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

Even though Amea had asked for her to not get caught off-guard from this, Evelyn couldn’t help but drop her jaw a little at just how hard the woman was digging into Orion Vane. The man looked like he was going to become one with his chair, given how much he was trying to disappear into it, away from Amea.

But the Echani was wondering if the woman was playing her cards a bit too much right now. At some point years ago, Orion Vane had tried to return to regular life after being at war for so long. Only to find a placebo cure through addiction; gambling, alcohol, drugs and so on. It was something Evelyn was...painfully familiar with. Childhood memories she wished could just be forgotten. But her concern was about the fact that even despite that, somewhere beneath that shaky exterior was the soldier.

Someone who’d react to a threat, to themselves and those that they loved. And Amea had just threatened to expose both. It came down to whether Orion would call on her bluff, or just straight up contact his brother and inform him about what had just happened. He might not act on this, but Dominic just might.

That was what Evelyn was truly concerned about.

Just how disposable was Orion in the eyes of his younger brother.

With a nod towards the door, Evelyn took her cue and departed the office along with Amea. She didn’t say anything until the door was shut and they were a fair distance away.

“So...I think that went decently well.” She chuckled lightly, looking over at Amea. “And you, you’ve got one hell of a scary talent. But it did give me an idea, how easy would it be for you to manufacture a call between Orion and an anonymous loan shark?”

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

The adrenaline was still pumping by the time they left the office and stepped out of the building to let in that one gasp of fresh air that had been missing for so long now. Amea grasped at the side of her head to calm herself down from the rush of anxiety. It had been a high-stakes gamble and in reality she didn’t even know if it had paid off yet.

“Well? That might just have been a disaster.” Amea muttered and let go of her temples. “I pushed too hard, got carried away.”

She calmed down, let one deep breath follow the other.

“I can.” She exhaled and looked at Evelyn as they walked down the street in relative peace. “Just need a good sample of a loan shark’s voice. Get the feeling for how they would talk, the small details in how they breathe and noises they might make when their tongues wiggle against their teeth or jaw.”

By the time they had reached the ship again with enough detours under their belt to feel confident that they had lost any and all tails, Amea would finally sit herself down on the very same couch that she had fallen asleep on little more than an hour or two ago.

“I pushed too hard,” The anxiety had begun to act up again. “I should have backed off by the time I had him down in his seat.”

“We need to fabricate that call, right now, and send it to him.”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

The Echani’s lips thinned, debating on what to say the moment she saw the facade slip and the anxiety to rise to the surface. It seemed they were both concerned what just happened wasn’t going to pan out, but Evelyn hated to see Amea like this.

She placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“You got him sufficiently cowed, too intimidated to act immediately. You’ve given us eight hours to see the rest of this plan through.” Again, provided he didn’t call her bluff on that aspect. But it didn’t need to be said, they both knew it.

“Would we really need to be that specific? Couldn’t we just look up on the HoloNet for any ol’ loan shark?”

Their trek back to the ship was a one mixed with silence and quiet plotting, until the duo finally arrived back. Hoshi had seemingly moved from the couch and had plopped himself down elsewhere in the ship. Evelyn let out a sigh, flopping down onto the chair and immediately resting her legs up atop the table.

She was no slouch when it came to cardio, but even the Echani had her limits.

“No, you’re right. It would be a bit too stereotypical sounding if we went for something straight from the HoloNet.” Evelyn sank into her chair, thinking. “What’s done is done, sure you might’ve pushed a bit too hard, but it’s worked hasn’t it?” It was a bit too hopeful sounding, but right now Evelyn was at a loss.

Until an idea sprung to mind seconds later.

“Oh! Why don’t we just call a loan shark ourselves? That way you’d be able to pick up on their mannerisms when talking.” The Echani shifted in her chair, sitting more upright now. “And no, we’re not going to send this to anyone. I want to bring this straight to the Boss himself, Dominic. Although, I doubt that’s going to be the easiest thing. Orion is sloppy, but I have a feeling his younger brother is a lot more...focused. Any slight deviations in his daily schedule would likely be caught.”

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

That squeeze, the small sense of comfort that snaked around the mind like a viper. The struggle between what she knew was the right idea and the conflicting new ones. There was no wrapping her mind around that one and it didn’t do much to alleviate the anxiety of the situation, just another variable to consider.

By the time they had reached the ship and Evelyn had shared her idea, Amea was spinning so many threads in her head that it grew hard to see. One idea wrapped around the other before it could reach fruition.

But, there was something wise in the suggestion that they’d simply call a loan shark of their own. The call with the loan shark was just a simple forgery. In good time Amea had managed to acquire two different voices to toy around with. After that came the part where she simply had a conversation with herself, something she had to admit she was rather good at even without the new speech patterns.

After a few laughs the duo would eventually have a faked call that was about as real as they would be able to manage even if Orion himself had helped them. Amea held the datastick in her hand, and with no small amount of trepidation a wary glance fired off in Evelyn’s direction before Amea handed it over to her friend.

“I…” Amea exhaled with a chuckle as if the light at the end of the tunnel was slowly creeping into view. “I think this is it.”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

It had been a particularly humorous endeavour to get the right loan shark to mimic. At one point the question of ‘local or not’ had become a debated topic. Whether it made sense if Orion would’ve gotten a loan from within the system, or from elsewhere in the galaxy. Eventually they found their ideal voice, and Amea got to work mimicking it.

The whole process was immensely fascinating to the Echani, who watched transfixed as her friend did her thing. Oh, how she wished they were doing this over a few drinks. The hijinks that cropped to mind were endless.

Once Amea had it down, it became a matter of recording the fake call. The first couple didn’t quite work out, primarily because of Evelyn. She couldn’t stop cracking up watching as Amea had a conversation with herself. Then when she finally got that reined in, she openly parroted what was being said in an effort to break Amea. It was a bit of lighthearted fun, even though both were aware of the looming clock ticking away.

Eventually, they did manage to produce a convincing call between Orion and the mysterious loan shark. Evelyn smiled, taking the datastick. “You do fantastic work, ‘mea.” The Echani opened her lips to speak again but was interrupted by a series of loud knocks against the ship’s hull.

She froze, and stared at Amea. That didn’t sound good…

“Open up, we know you’re in there. Mister Vane wants a word!”

Definitely not good.

The Echani dashed towards the security room, sliding into the relatively small room and began interacting with one of the monitor stations. After a few inputs, the underbelly turret’s camera sprung to life.

Standing outside of the ship was a sizable group of heavily armed men. A mix of various races, with an obvious and tall Trandoshan standing as their leader.

“These have to be Dominic's men…” Evelyn muttered as she stared at the monitor, then over at Amea. No doubt that fight or flight instinct was going into overdrive right now, Evelyn knew hers was certainly trying to surface. They could potentially just fly out here, or blast the men with the turrets and then fly. But there was no saying if they had the spaceport locked down, ready to blow them out of the sky. Besides...they were meant to get out of this peacefully.

Evelyn exhaled, turning to face Amea. She had a plan, but it required something.

“Do you trust me?”

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

And just like the snap of a finger, the light extinguished. Amea took a step back, away from Evelyn as the worries of last night resurfaced in an instant. Her breathing grew labored as she began to glance around, grappling with the thoughts of betrayal and loyalty. It fell so well in line with what Amea would have expected, and yet it was far from what she had believed.

Her heart pound against her chest.

Her tongue making her choke as she swallowed to clear her throat.

“More than anything.” Amea said and slowly approached Evelyn like a dog being pushed into a corner. It was instinct almost, a desire to believe that Evelyn wouldn’t do her over like this. Not after having seen who Amea became once she had vengeance on her mind. “Please, don’t make me regret it.”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

The words brought a smile to Evelyn’s face, and in part warmed her heart. She didn’t know why, but that wasn’t the thing to focus on right now. With a nod, the Echani turned and pressed a finger down onto the speaker button.

“Alright, we’re coming out!”

“Good. And don’t bother bringing any weapons, we’ll just relieve you of them anyway.”

Evelyn bit down on her lip slightly, she hated being without a weapon in these situations. But right now she’d rather no piss these guys off any further. With a sigh, she removed her rifle, blaster and stun batons, placing them down on the nearby table. She looked over at Amea. "If you have any small gadgets on you, keep ‘em concealed. If push comes to shove, we’ll need an out.”

Once they were both ready, Evelyn led the way back through the ship and towards the ramp. A deep breath later and the Echani punched in the code, and the ramp began to lower.

“I’ll give you a signal if I feel it's our only option, But I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that…” Slowly but surely, the duo began to walk down the ramp.

“That’s it, easy does it. Raise your arms up, so they don’t go wandering now.” The Trandoshan stepped forwards, along with the rest of the men. Evelyn looked to the side, and saw a Gamorrean, likely the one who had knocked on her ship.

“I’m going to take a wild guess, and assume you’re Dominic Vane’s men?”

“The boss wants to speak with you, whether you walk out of here depends on where that conversation goes.”

Evelyn glanced around, looking for any future openings and weaknesses, but found none. The group were moving as a tight knit group, covering each other’s flanks. Suddenly, one of the men got a bit too close, and slapped a metal bracelet around both women’s wrists, sealing shut the moment it made contact.

“The hell is this?!” Evelyn’s gaze snapped over to the group’s leader.

“To avoid any funny business.” She had no idea what that meant, but Amea sure would. As the moment the metal connected around her wrist, her connection to the Force began to be suppressed. “Alright, let’s move it.” As Dominic’s men formed a perimeter around the two women, Evelyn shifted closer to Amea and slid a hand into hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

They weren’t led out of either of the main doors, instead they were brought through a maintenance corridor, and into another area entirely. It looked to be some type of cargo bay, the large open area littered with shipping containers.

Evelyn glanced at Amea. Surely Dominic wasn’t coming here to speak with them?

The answer came only a minute later, when a spider-like droid appeared around a corner. It’s metal legs tip-tapping away as it approached the group. Evelyn and Amea were pushed forwards, while the guards took up posts around them, keeping a fair distance away. The machine began to hum with activity, and a hologram sprung to life above the mechanical spider’s body.

It was Dominic Vane, seemingly sitting behind a desk. Even through the hologram it was clear he was a lot more well kept than Orion.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t learn of you visiting my brother? You might’ve been able to sneak by his men, but did it never cross your mind that I had someone watching Orion?” Evelyn cursed quietly, no that hadn’t crossed her mind. “Especially when one of you is the one that murdered my son.” Dominic’s gaze turned to fix itself on Amea, but it was quickly turned to Evelyn with her next words.

“That’s why we’re here, I want to ask you to drop everything you have on my friend here, charges, hits, bounties, the lot. You’re going to scrub it all squeaky clean.”

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

The smug grin on the man’s lips at Evelyn’s order was a stark contrast to the deep frown on Amea as she continued to struggle against her better judgment. As an errant chuckle of sheer disbelief parted his lips followed by another, the rest of the dock seemed to follow along and Amea found herself staring at Evelyn to seek some form of support.

It was there.

Once more she choked as she tried to swallow her fear.

“And how about you just give me the keys to Coruscant City, huh?” Dominic whined as he stopped himself from laughing with a flick of his finger against his cheek to snap away at a teardrop. “You honestly expect me to let the wh-” There was a sudden problem with the speaker and Amea gave Evelyn a roll of her eyes and a headshake. “That killed my son off the hook like that?”

“You’re either dumb, or you’re just straight up crazy.”

“Now, if you have any last words…”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

To Evelyn’s credit, she didn’t back down from what she said. Showed no concern or worry on her face, just stared ahead at Dominic’s holographic form as he barked out a laugh.

“Now, if you have any last words…”

“I do actually. We know who's responsible for his death. Yes, my friend here might’ve been the gun that was fired, but she wasn’t the one who aimed it.”

The amusement faded somewhat from Dominic’s expression, leaning into his desk some as he returned Evelyn’s stare. “And pray tell, who was this mysterious person?”

“Your brother, Orion.”

Once more, silence fell across the dock. There were a couple of snickers of laughter, but it was quickly smothered when it became clear Dominic wasn’t laughing. There was no outburst, no immediate declaration she was lying. Instead, he steepled his fingers together and rested his chin atop it.

“That’s a mighty serious accusation you’re raising, what proof do you have?”

Evelyn took a step forward, hand going to reach for something in her coat. Guns were immediately raised, but the Echani quickly pulled her hand away. “I have proof, and assuming your droid here has an interface, I can transfer it.”

Orion narrowed his eyes slightly, before gesturing to one of his guards to be a middleman.

“How do I know your guy isn’t going to just crush it the moment he has it?”

“Because I’m the one holding the cards here, and the guns. You’ve little room to complain. Besides, I’m a fair man. You say you have proof, if it’s true that is. Otherwise I’ll just have you shot where you stand.”

The guard stepped forwards, Evelyn pulled out the datastick and handed it over. And true to his word, the man walked over to the hologram spider and plugged it in.

“As I’m sure you’re aware, Mister Vane. Your brother has an issue with gambling. But did you know that every credit you routinely send his way, gets washed away within a week? He’s been covering it with his own profits, barely disguising it while hoping he wins big. You can see that in the first bit of proof.”

Orion’s attention shifted to the side, presumably to focus on his screen. His expression remained serious, but it lost that humorous edge to it. “What of it, this is nothing particularly new to me, he’s always been a disappointment since-”

“Exactly, he’s a disappointment to you and your family. He’s been careless for years, becoming a stain on your family name. I’m sure you were relieved when he found a way to drown out his PTSD and trauma, but it backfired over time, didn’t it?” The holographic visage turned to glance at Evelyn, fixing her with a side glare. “It gets worse from there I’m afraid. He took out a loan from your son not long before his death, and bigger amounts from other loan sharks. Until a particular one put a bit more of a squeeze on Orion.” The next bit of evidence was the email from the loan shark to the older Vane brother. With the former ‘suggesting’ that if he wanted his debt lessened, he could see to having his nephew roughed up a little.

“He was concerned for his own life, not the honour of your family and especially not the life of your son; his nephew.”

What followed was their manufactured call, crafted immaculately by Amea. It showed a holocall between Orion, showing his face off clear as day, with a stock standard Holo-avatar of the ‘loan shark’. At first Orion looked like he was distraught over Samson’s death, but kept insistently asking if the man would honour his end of the deal.

And then just at the end, after the call was over and Orion had thought he had hit ‘End’ was a little juicy coup de grace.

The little brat knew what he was doing when he gave me that money, he always knew how it would make me look if the rest of the family found out...Heir to a fortune that had never been his, or my bastard brother’s to begin with. I was owed that ticket, I was the one who was supposed to take over and they all took it from me. But if there is one thing I learned from the army…It’s that when you have a problem, you must treat it like the enemy. And when you meet an enemy…

“Your brother was careless enough to have this call while at his office, whom record every call as standard protocol for the company.” Evelyn paused, letting out a sigh. “I know what it’s like to lose a loved one, especially someone so close. I also know what it means to a mob family like the Corefront. You’ve no valid heir right now, and it’ll be a good number of years before your next eldest is eligible for it. It leaves your empire vulnerable to further attacks, both literal and political. And well...as your brother so eloquently put it. When you have a problem, you must treat it like the enemy…”

Dominic was split between looking at his screen and over to Amea and Evelyn. It was clear this sudden influx of information weighed heavy. He had gone into this assuming he was being fed a load of bantha crap, but the evidence was clear before him. He literally had his brother confessing to having his son killed to settle a debt.

“...This still does not change the fact your friend is the one who killed Samson.”

“No, it does not. But it was never her intent, she didn’t want to kill him. He attacked her and it got rough, obviously to a point where he died as a result of it. She got hired to rough someone up, that was it. Your brother was the one behind this.”

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

It was hard to hide the fear, but Amea managed. She watched the scene play out knowing as little as Dominic did, her face just barely contorted into an uneasy grimace to hide her confusion from the crowd. The office conversation played before them, and just then it was clear that perhaps Amea was not the only one with a haphazard disregard for what was a complete truth and what was an absolute lie.

Evelyn was a box of surprises, wasn’t she? It grew as equally difficult not to smile, but even then Amea managed. There was a silence that lingered

“Yes. Yes, he wasn’t. Wasn’t he?” Dominic muttered at the information he had been provided. “Never could trust him around…” The rest sputtered off into a quiet mumble before the man looked back at the screen again. “Actually, you know what?”

… No, they really didn’t.

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

There was a tense pause after Dominic spoke, everyone; even the guards, were watching intently to see what the man would say next.

“For bringing this to light, I will overlook the fact you obviously hacked into not just a company of ours, but also the private accounts of a family member. Crimes that would be otherwise punishable…”

So that fact certainly didn’t go over Dominic’s head then. Fortunately, it looked to be the least of his concerns right now. He looked away for a minute or so, presumably to type away at his computer.

“The hit registered with the Bounty Hunter’s Guild has been cancelled.”

Evelyn struggled to hide the relief that wanted to rise to the surface, and to look in Amea’s direction. But it was of the reluctant kind, as the Echani had a thought that was no doubt similar to her friend.

“And how can we guarantee that’s the truth?”

Dominic turned to glare at Evelyn. “For one, you can check their boards to see. Two, I’m a man of honour, even if we deal in the shadows and the underworld. You revealed the true culprit, and that deserves a reward.”

A pause.

“But, that’s where it starts and ends.” Dominic looked over at Amea, raising a hand and pointing a finger at her. “I don’t want to ever see your face in this city, in this system again. The facts do not change that you murdered my son, so if I even get a whiff that you’ve been seen here, you’ll be back in my sights. Is that understood?”

Evelyn glanced over at Amea for whatever her reaction would be. Whatever it was, assuming she didn’t lash out or insult the man. The hologram would power down, and the datastick would be returned.

“You two got lucky, the boss was more than ready to have us gun you down.” The Trandoshan walked up to them. “The suppression bracelets will deactivate and disengage once we’re gone. And remember what the Boss said, don’t be seen around here again or else.”

Once Dominic’s men had departed, Evelyn let out a shaky breath.

“Not going to lie, part of me kinda wants to throw up right now.” Clearly, despite the calm demeanour she had been showing externally, internally she had been nervous as hell.

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

Honor among crooks. Amea had heard of it, and rarely experienced it. It wasn’t unheard of or as if she hadn’t seen it happen, but more often it was a bunch of words that were used to lull someone into a false sense of security before you twisted the dagger in their back. With Dominic however, this didn’t seem to be the case. For as tense as the situation had been, the henchmen did seem to take their leave.

And that left Amea alone with no-one left around but Evelyn. A sigh of relief caused her shoulders to slump as the light at the end of the tunnel peeled back to reveal that the exit had been before her all along. Blinding, nauseating, blurry. The world was a haze for a moment, and then just like that…

… It was dark again.

Amea began to stumble backward, her knee giving way as her body collapsed backward. An ocean of worry, nerves and better knowing rolled off her shoulders, and with it her body finally decided to grant itself those last few moments of rest that it had so desperately needed in these last three weeks.

Hoshi came out into the cargo hold, eyes set on Evelyn and then Amea with a curious and admittedly worried look. He was quick at the jump, hands placed against Amea’s lower leg to help Evelyn support her. It didn’t do much, but the thought still counted for something, right?

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

“Amea?”

She had turned to look just in time to see her friend begin her fall. Evelyn quickly dived towards her, scooping herself just beneath the woman. The Echani fell with a heavy thud, but managed to brace Amea’s head, cushioning it from a hard blow against the floor.

“Amea!” Evelyn gently shook her, but it was clear her friend was completely out cold. She sighed, letting Amea’s head rest on her lap. “I guess it finally caught up with you, properly this time. Sweet dreams, ‘mea. Hopefully you’ll be able to sleep peacefully now.”

Evelyn looked up to see Hoshi popping his head into the cargo bay, immediately seeing Amea and rushing over. The Echani chuckled quietly, watching as the Shinri tried supporting the unconscious woman’s legs.

“It’s alright buddy, we’re alright.” The Echani shifted her position, gently placing Amea on the floor so she could get the proper footing. From there she knelt down and scooped the woman up into her arms. She looked down at her friend, who seemed to be trying to subconsciously get closer into the embrace. Evelyn began to carry her back to the ship, with Hoshi taking the lead and opening the doors in their way.

Once they were on the ship, the Echani carefully placed Amea onto the chair she had occupied previously. Hoshi gave her a look, and Evelyn shook her head.

“I’m taking these damn boots off first, my feet are killing me.” Confident they weren’t going to be heading out any further for the time being, Evelyn was content on properly unwinding for the remaining hours of the day. “No, I’m going to take her to my room. This might be the first time in a long while Amea’s getting some proper sleep. I’m making sure she’s as comfortable as can be.”

With her own boots and coat removed, Evelyn worked on Amea’s. Careful to not wake her, though she suspected it would take a lot to do that right now. Evelyn removed Amea’s own boots, then her jacket. Scooping her back up into her arms, the Echani carried her into her personal quarters. Hoshi took the initiative and helped ahead of time by pulling the duvet back.

However, as Evelyn placed the sleeping woman onto the bed, Amea refused to let go. Try as she might to pull away, Amea seemingly resisted and pulled the Echani onto the bed with her. For a good minute or so Evelyn tried to break free of the hold, her cheeks becoming increasingly red, until she eventually gave in and sighed.

It reminded her of the hug earlier in the day, at Amea’s makeshift home in the city. She was starved for that warmth, that comfort. How could Evelyn deny her that?

Evelyn shifted in her spot, getting a bit more comfortable. She peered over at Hoshi who was standing on the bottom of the bed. “Can you keep an eye on things, Hoshi? Just for a little while.” The Shinri nodded, giving her a salute of sorts before he hopped down to the floor and hurried out of the room.

Fortunately for everyone involved, there were no further disruptions.

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

Softly sleeping slumber, a long desired respite against the onslaught of reality. The darkness in her mind seemed to fade away as piece for piece she was brought to her knees in a moment of weakness. Amea found herself enveloped by a thick mist and fog, cursory glances around her offered no sign of where she was, but as she slowed down she found herself looking at the same old cherry tree that had appeared to her only once before in a vision-like state. Despite the fact that the tree remained wilted, there were signs of rejuvenation at the roots.

Amea dug her fingers into the glass-like soil, her thumb and index finger causing it to crumble into a fine dust before it scattered into the non-existent winds. She still had no clue why this was here, or how it connected her to the past. At least not to what extent, but it clearly had some form of importance to her. And so there she sat, deep within the recesses of her mind just staring at a tree, her fingers drawing small crude symbols and letters in the ground that seemed to shift like water.

For a short while longer she was willing to remain in this state. Bliss, for as rare as it was, had not been something she was used to. This calm, and peace, and ability to lay her weapons down with knowing that she was going to be okay, it was… Welcome. Yet no sooner than the thought appeared, the feeling seemed to fade. Amea clung to it, and by doing so refused to let it go, her subconscious wrapping itself around that small ray of whatever it was.

The feeling was bright, hard to ignore. Alien and yet familiar as if it had always been there. Soft and warm, like lying on a beach, eyes to the sky as the waves gently brushed against your arms and legs without quite reaching your face. Like sleeping on a couch while bested by a furry little creature of light.

What Amea felt, for the first time in a long while, was hope. Her heart fluttered with a small ache as she slowly came to the realization. Her breath quickened for a moment with a struggle to figure out why. Her eyes fell upon her hands as if she would find herself holding the answers therein. But little would she realize until it was right there before her like a slap across her face that a blinding light had begun to spread across her little cave. As her eyes moved up to see, she saw nothing but the tree as it straightened itself out and exploded into a chorus of colors and song, lights as blinding as the sun before finally…

She woke up.

It was a slow stir, a gentle stir. Her ears and sense of touch reacting to the world faster than her eyes could see, only to find the sound of nothing and a world of soft pillows and covers. She had no memory of this place, but as her eyes finally opened to let her see the world in full again it all made sense. It was a familiar scene, but one that felt different than before. Her brows rose with a groggy motion as her head tried to sink back down into the pillows. One quick glance under the cover and Amea would come to realize that she was still dressed.

“What the-” Her voice groaned, her throat feeling as if it hadn’t been used in years. She sat up, slow and steady, to take in the room as her feet found the cold floor. “Where the-”

It was one very confused Amea that woke up.

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

Amea’s question was interrupted by the sound of breathing, arguable light snoring behind her. Turning to face it, she’d find a slumbering Evelyn. Her chest rising and falling evenly as she exhaled, head tilted to the side in the direction of Amea. She was still fast asleep despite the movement to leave the bed.

Looking around the room, Amea would find it was probably the most decorated room she had seen so far. Across from the bottom of the bed was a desk, with a small number of picture frames lining around the terminal in the middle. They looked to be old mementos of Evelyn’s childhood, of her and her grandparents, a couple achievements, and what looked to be her practicing with a slingshot, with a robot…butler in the background?

Everything else looked pretty standard for a personal quarters, with an additional door likely leading to a private bathroom.

While Evelyn remained slumbering, Hoshi on the other hand was awoken by Amea. The small Shinri stirring awake from his curled up place at the bottom of the bed. He let out a yawn, stretching his limbs.

The moment he caught sight of Amea, his ears shot up and he quickly; and carefully to not disturb Evelyn, walked over to the other woman’s side of the bed. Hoshi smiled up at her, tilting his head as if silently asking how she was.

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

Inhale, exhale, slight snort between them. Amea turned around to check the bed only to see Evelyn fast asleep. Yet again she patted herself down to ensure that she was dressed. At least enough to not feel entirely ashamed of herself. Nothing had happened, that much was certain. Amea’s bare feet patted against the floor with care not to make any noise. It was a well-practiced skill, but not good enough for Detective Hoshi. The creature perked up and Amea gentle hushed him and patted his head.

“Were we out for long?” Amea whispered and began to glance around. “Did we… Do anything?”

Hoshi shook his head.

“No as in out for long, or no as in we didn’t do anything?”

Hoshi’s head then bobbed up and down with a mischievous smile. Amea squinted her eyes in a mock glare before she eased up again to roll her eyes.

“Okay, out for long?”

Nod.

“Do anything?”

Head shake.

Amea let out a sigh of relief and pushed herself up from her kneeling position. This room was clearly more cared for than the others. It was practically a museum of small details that all related to the young woman that laid sleeping in bed. Part of Amea felt a pang of jealousy course through her veins, but it quickly settled as she began to look at all the mementos. Diplomas and pictures, one of which was Evelyn with a droid butler. Unidentifiable make, custom-made for the family? That took money. Amea glanced at the sleeping Echani for a second with a warm smile before she went back to snooping.

A diploma and certificate of higher education. Amea let out a small ‘huh’ as she held it in her hands, thumbs stroking longingly against the frame as if there was something there that she didn’t quite know that she wanted. A normal life, or at the very least something more permanent than living ship to ship and job to job.

It was a… Weird feeling.

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

While Amea was doing a little snooping at Evelyn’s desk, Hoshi thought it was the perfect time to wake up the Echani. He had wandered along the bed until he was close enough to start shaking her. Paws against her shoulder, he began to try and stir her, a tad bit more aggressively than he did with Amea previously.

“What is it Hoshi, why are you waking me up?” Evelyn yawned out, her voice quiet as she slowly started to wake up. Blurry eyes blinking open to a distinctly empty space next to her. “Amea?”

The Echani shifted in the bed, gradually pulling herself up into a seated position.

“Ugh, why do my legs feel like they’ve been wrapped up tight?” Evelyn asked the question to no one in particular, pulling up the covers only to groan. “Oh right, yeah I slept in these damned pants.”

She looked over at where Amea was standing, seemingly unfazed or not realizing her friend was standing at her desk, diploma in hand.

Evelyn yawned again, stretching her arms up into the air and in process causing the hem of her shirt to ride up. The white button up was just generally a mess anyway, primarily because it wasn't exactly proper sleeping attire.

“How long have you been awake?”

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

“A few minutes.” Amea sighed and put the frame down. “Seems someone didn’t plan on giving me enough time to snoop.”

Eyes set on Hoshi with a warm, if a bit melancholic smile. It was oddly calm now, something felt off about it and yet it was completely welcome all the same. In a subconscious move Amea let her hand grasp at the back of her neck to rub with an awkward shuffle.

“You seem practically normal from these things.” Amea motioned around the room with a sweep of her arm. “Rich, happy upbringing…” Never mind the parents, but those weren’t needed for an upbringing to be happy. “Makes me think…”

Amea let her shoulders roll. “I am not really sure it matters, you know?”

“A bit like sleeping in a pair of leather pants,” Amea forced herself to change subject. “I have no idea what you were thinking there.”