Do You Wanna Build A Spacelane? (Brat Pack)

[Ibaris Varanin]

Yeah, she was off in her own thoughts. Boy, she had a lot of thoughts, all pulling her in different directions, often. This one involved [member="Liam Quez"], whom she may or may not have noticed wandering back to the pilot's chair and thus put out of her mind as that was where she thought he should always be. So, back to her own thoughts about, well... oh, her eyes went wide! Trains derailed! ...Lollipop in mouth?

Her eyes fixed on Liam as he called her a sourpuss, [member="John Hunt"] momentarily forgotten. [member="Mira Gyndar"], much the same. She stared hard at her pilot, a bit dumbfounded. Slowly, she grasped the lollipop stick and dislodged the sweet from her mouth. It was a lollipop and she just couldn't believe she was doing this, but...

"Disgusting."

And she grabbed his chin with the other hand, shoving the lollipop between his right cheek and teeth.

"Keep your boy-germs outta my mouth."

Then she gave his face a pat, instead of slapping. Progress? Nah. They just had company.

 

[Liam Quez]

The candy made it back into my mouth and I grinned. She fell for it and I won the bait this time. Her hand made contact with the side of my face and I couldn’t help but continue to smile through it. She was playing so nice, but I knew when the others left and it was just us - I was going to pay. Adas would probably join in on the fun as well. Standing up straight I scratched my stomach and nodded. It was time to lay it all out there for the girl.

“I can’t believe you just denied my gift of sweets. So rare are you feeling sick Princess?” I put the back of my hand on her forehead and shook my head. “No, you’re feeling just fine.” I stood closer though as I looked down at her. I wanted to push her, I wanted to see how far I could get away with things. Shrugging, I continued to suck on the lollipop and smile. “You know my boy germs aren’t that bad. I mean we totally just made out, my germs in your mouth and now your germs in my mouth.”

She might kill me tonight, but it was worth it. I’ll forever hold today as the day I made out with [member="Ibaris Varanin-Jacobs"] .

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[member="Liam Quez"] [member="Ibaris Varanin-Jacobs"] [member="Laura Na'Varro"] [member="Mira Gyndar"] [member="Kaili Talith"] @Hylocereus @Aela Talith [member="Micah Talith"] [member="Daria Cavill"]

"Sorry, Kaili - I forgot to mark down who programmed what probe." Which was true, it just wasn't the whole truth. Mara remembered, more or less. It was just that Kaili's had been one of the probes that ran face-first into a quasar. Could happen to anyone. Fortunately, Mara knew what she was doing when it came to lying, even to Forcers. Even to Lorrdians. She'd been raised by one too. If she and Kaili had been closer, though...

She made a note to maybe spend more time with the kid. Definitely a preferred Talith.

The next round of probe telemetry blinked to life on her console's holodisplay. Mara felt a slow grin steal over her. She touched the intercom and comm.

"Hey everyone, we've got the full telemetry back. We found a good few habitable systems, but most of'em are already known to someone or other. There's one system that's got a habitable world and absolutely zero records apart from, like, some tiny academic expedition like fifteen years back, so we're setting course for there."

 

[Vexen]

At the threshold of the door to Micah’s room, Vexen waited in the shadows. For a few moments more she lingered, ears twisting back and forth. When she was content that no one was in the immediate vicinity – as immediate as you could be in a small ship full of children - she surreptitiously advanced down the path to her left. She followed the voices, sneaking through a hangar bay, and passing through another set of doors.

She’d been stowed away in Micah’s room since they’d launched. The boy had said they might be gone a little while and he couldn’t leave her with anyone yet. He’d mumbled something about not asking his parents about keeping vexen just yet.

An odd thing that Vexen had lived her life in solitude, and yet now, all alone in the room in the dark, she started to feel deeply lonely. Used to a simple fixed schedule of day and night, she was tired, and yet could not find sleep. She crept up towards the bridge, and found a nook in the corridor, nestling into the tight space and closing her eyes. She could hear them speaking clearly from her. Even if she couldn’t understand all the words. It made her feel content. Vexen closed her eyes and fell to sleep in a few minutes.

 

[Aela Talith]

“Okay.” Aela said into her comm-system with a smile.

She didn't particularly care if her probe was the one selected, after all she hadn't quite managed to do what the others had done. Some of them in fact might have said that Aela cheated, though she would deny any such thing.

She had played to her strengths.

There had been no way for her to sense her way through it, no way to find it the way the others had done, so Aela had instead turned to the one thing in her life that she found to be truly easy, Research. It was fun for her, and even though her siblings made fun of her for it Aela knew that books, scrolls, and history would never let her down as long as she knew what she was looking for.

Slowly she moved her hand over to the panel that controlled the ship.

She wasn't piloting of course, that would be suicide for her and anyone on board. Instead the ship was controlled by an AI, all she had to do was enter the coordinates, and the ship flew itself. Simple really.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

Well that was something at least. Although he was curious to see which probes did what. However, considering that he heard the answer to [member="Kaili Talith"] 's question, well that pretty much meant they were poodoo out of luck.

Curious, he went wandering over to the holodisplay.

Uncharted planet eh? Now this could get real interesting.

"Neutral territory, so hopefully no surprises." not that he minded surprises, but then again, the last time they had one it had been at a McYoda's. Not the type of surprises he was after. Not yet at least; even if a part of him was thrilled at the notion of testing out his skills.

A glance over his shoulder would turn to look at Kai's direction; and had he been a bit more in tuned to animals like his sister Aela and Maleah, he might have caught sight of Vexen. He had a great relationship with his Valrain, Khar, but like most bonds, time could only help bridge the connection and help him and Vexen get closer.

For now, he would move away from the holodisplay, heading on over to clean up after the small mess he left with his other probe.

 

[Kaili Talith]

“Oh.” Disappointed. Kind of just the best way to describe it. “Oh well, maybe next time you will.”

There had of course been a worse reaction if she’d known the true result. The kid’s heart wouldn’t necessarily break, but it wasn’t too far from what most likely would have happened. Frowning, if anything, would have been involved though. Frowning in spades.

At least [member="Mara D'Lessio Merrill"] spared her that.

“I’ll stay here and think on what you taught us.” Kaili looked to Mara. “Just makes sure someone comes to get me when we’ve reached our destination.”

With a small skip Kaili placed herself atop of a crate and crossed her legs while humming a small tune. She would really not be available until they landed, she was kind of into that whole ‘do not disturb’ mode when she meditated. It was just how she worked.

Unless someone prodded or poked at her, of course.

 

[The End Narrator]

There weren't many places for her to go - but she would find solitude and meditation on her own.

She'd find a nice quiet place - somewhere near mechanical things and working electronics. Somehow - she found herself in one of the compartments down near the engine room. It felt cozy and comfortable to her, like home. There, she felt at peace and with that peace - she'd reach out through the Force. She'd focus on it, call for it and bring the ethereal strands into her very being. She'd soak them in and allow them to soothe the chaos that flowed through her veins. It was the simplest of tasks for a Jedi to attain peace within and meditate on something - the hardest of tasks was to harness the energy and focus on something such as a vision to make it clearer.

Visions weren't always right - they were guidelines. The future was a chaotic whirlpool that was always changing and always in motion. So no matter what she saw, she'd never be able to tell if it was right - but she'd get a general idea.

Then she'd go from there.

 

[Micah Talith]

It wasn't long, however, Micah's keen sense would flare at [member="Vexen"]'s familiar presence. Revelation had a way to boosting one's eyesight, and in that Force power, it allowed the young Talith to peer catch what normally would be missed by others. While it wasn't ultraviolet light, it did help in discerning just a little bit more of a certain shadowy form of the Defel wraith.

It didn't take long to track her, she was curled in a nook by the corridor.

Quietly, Micah sat himself down next to her, a soft smile growing on his face. "Hey there,Vex." he said quietly, so as to not startle her. His hand would go reach out, moving to lightly stroke her head and nuzzle her behind her ears.

"Didn't want to be alone out there, eh?" he'd tease lightly, "We're just trying to figure out how to work the probes." he would explain.

"Here's to hoping mine didn't go too far off course."

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

How different species experienced the world around them was a subject of much scientific research. Vision was of particular interest. Was "blue" perceived the same by different species? It wasn't of course, but did their brains make a blue canvas look red? It was never the same of course, because the nature of how the eye worked was well studied. Humans, for example, had three receptors that were sensitive to different frequency bands. These roughly corresponded to red, blue and green. Just three bands to build a mental image of the spectrum. Many offshoot human species had changed their sensitivity to different environments over time. And so, some would see a reddish purple where others saw blueish purple. Different species had different numbers of receptors. Dogs built their colours from just two bands. To a Defel's multispectral eyes the world could be a beautiful place. The flowers in the gardens of an ithorian herdship were stunning when one could see ultraviolet.

Of course, the way one perceived the world was not just down to the eyes. A whole lifetime of experience defined how one saw the world*. Vexen's was not a beautiful world. It was a world of hunger, mistrust and fear. So when she was startled, her eyes snapped open and her lips raised, exposing a row of teeth. Micah's voice immediately calmed her. Odd how it did that already, like nothing else had before. The boy was so kind to her. Vexen often wondered what it was he would want from her. A bath had been the only request so far. She despised water, but apparently a lifetime without one offended even the human's poor sense of smell. There was supposedly something called a sonic shower, but that didn't do anything about "fleeze".

"Yeah," she admitted quietly. Her ears swivelled towards the room Micah had come from. "Who doing the chattin' with?" she asked.



*story for another thread

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

"Just a few friends," He told her, getting to that spot right behind her right ear to give it a good scratch. "There's Mara, " he told her, nodding on off towards the holoarray. "She's the one teaching us how to focus on the force to get a bit more instinctive with our astrogation."

He would scoot on closer, encouraging Vexen to snuggle up close while he would start to inspect her coat. Growing up and living with Maleah and Aela along with their Oma gave a pretty good solid foundation on helping take care of furred species. When he found Vex, she was almost all just skin and bones, with a few cuts and scrapes that would likely catch infection if they weren't treated. He gave a slight frown, focusing on her coat, running his fingers through it to catch any gnarls or mats. He already got her a new brush, but this was just a quick see.

His family was one that was pretty touchy, perhaps too much. There wasn't much in terms of personal space, but that was usually left to family. Vex just managed to tug on the Talith just like the rest of his friends, and the concern and care he'd give her would show.

Vex just needed a bit of laughter every now and then.

"Kai's there. She's my sister," he point out to the girl with the blonde hair. A bit shorter, but had that sort of determined concentrating look.

"Heh, she's the one I told you is easy to rile up."

 

[Vexen]

[member="Vexen"]

"Just a few friends," .
"There's Mara, "
"She's the one teaching us how to something on the force to get a bit more something with our something."
"Kai's there. She's my sister,"
"Heh, she's the one I told you is easy to something up."

She turned her head slightly, so that his fingers got the right spot behind her ear. Her anxiety melted away as she moved in close to Micah and let him run his hands through her fur. She let out a quiet whining sigh as he continued, feeling content again. Such a rare experience.

Vexen wasn’t entirely sure was “Rile up” meant, but given the way Micah had spoken of his sister before, she assumed it meant to be teased. She didn’t concern herself with exactly what the group of human were doing, she could always ask more questions later. Vexen had a keen mind, despite her vocal skills. It meant she was all too aware of her lack of comprehension. If she constantly asked questions, Micah would probably get fed up quickly. After all, she wasn’t family.

Vexen had existed as an outsider to the most extreme fringes of galactic society. The forgotten, lost and hidden. In those places nothing was given freely, not even affection. Survival was all there was in that wretched existence. She wanted to believe that things could always be this way, but it was…hard. A little voice always piped up to remind her that soon Micah would want something back for this. For now she tried to ignore it, to enjoy the moment.

Her instinct was to reciprocate, the use her teeth and claws to sort through Micah’s fur. Of course, he just had a small, wayward mop of hair on his head. When she’d affectionately chewed on his arm once, he hadn’t seemed too pleased. Instead she snuggled in close.

“Dis like all humans live?” she asked, changing her mind as the question kept buzzing around her mind. “In space going from world to world, searching?”

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Vexen"]

Micah gave a slight grin at Vex, enjoying her inquisitive nature.

"Some do. Some don't." he began to explain, still running his fingers through her fur. While her injuries were healing nicely, her health and well being depended on proper nutrition and getting rest. He was glad she was sleeping more, but he could understand the need to be social.

They were both alike in that degree. One of many.

"There are some who are okay with living their entire lives on one planet, their home. Others enjoy flying around in space rather than setting foot on firm soil." He gave a slight chuckle, thinking of Mara's father in comparison to other Academy professors.

"My family travels a lot, but we always have a home to go back to," he would tell her, his forefinger starting to idly trace along the edge of her right ear. He certainly was a touchy guy, but then again, so was his entire family. Well, save Aela. And Maleah enjoyed biting more than cuddling.

"We like to go exploring, see new worlds. Meet new people." he would continue, looking up with a half smile towards the group of friends he had.

"These guys feel the same. So it's nice."

 

[Vexen]

[member="Micah Talith"]

“Hmm,” Vexen murmured noncommittally. She thought on that for a moment. The Galaxy was an incomprehensively larger place than she had imagined. For someone who struggled to count to ten, mentally visualising the number of worlds and species was all she had – and that was impossible. Micah took his family with him. She envied that, she supposed, but it was another feeling that started to emerge. An icy fear that spread from her gut. A small shiver ran down her spine, and the fur down her back ruffled.

Micah took his family with him to “Meet new people”. Vexen had no family. She could recall no others like her. The boy was all she had. But he already had his family and they went everywhere together. Once again she was an outsider. When they’d finished meeting new people, they probably moved on. Micah would move on once the novelty had worn off and she would be alone again. A sad little sigh escaped her lips.

Still it would be nice whilst it lasted. This was already more than she deserved, wretched little creature that she was. She gently nuzzled his spare hand as he ran his other down her ear.

“Suppose if you taking family with you, you taking home with you,” she observed. "Will they like me?" she ventured.

 

[Micah Talith]

Micah would lower his head, turning to look at @Vexen. He gave her a warm smile, rubbing the small area right between her ears at the back of her head in a soft scratch as if to comfort her.

"They'll like you. Don't worry. Khal might be a bit miffed, but he's a Valrain -- a big bird, almost a meter high actually," he would tell her about his pet Valrain, the one companion he had growing up much like Aela had her Chalrax and Maleah had her Nexu.

"She'll come around though, don't worry. " the corner of his mouth would perk, "Maleah and Aela actually would likely try to take up the bulk of your time, haha."

He gave a soft yawn then, glancing over at Mara. "I wonder what planet we will find. Should be fun."