Private Doldrum Jazz

[Ranna Sejast]

Athena Saxon

"Really droids could be doing this." Ranna complained to no one as she ran the bar of the thermal projector over the flat roof of the listening post. The intense heat boiled the offending powder and ice away as the lone Mandalorian went about her daily upkeep of the lonely outpost. A cold wind blew back in response as if mocking her statement by declaring nature was relentless and would reclaim the facility. Fittingly Ranna ignored it, comfortable in her insulated and heated armor as she went about her tasks. Whoever had built this place hadn't cared to mind it, and neither did the Mandos now occupying it.

A distant tree cracked thunderously in the silence, and snow fell from its branches as she paused to watch as its branch, overcome with snow and ice, fell away in a shower of the white stuff. So that was why part of the regular jump-pack training here had been to kick the trees upper boughs. She had thought it simply a form of weird Mandalorian training like so many other things were but had carried on in practice along with the other things the aged Mandalorian she'd spent a week with here had shown her before he left her alone. The solace had been nice at first. A return to the days of cruising the space lanes looking for work in her fighter with nobody but herself and clients for company after the hustle and chaos of the Mandalorian Clans. Now though she was finding she missed it and was fondly looking forward to ending her stint on this frontier planet. Still, she kept up with her checks with the regularity of any mechanic going through their daily inspections despite the monotony. She told herself that it'd show she could be trusted even when nobody was watching, that it proved she could maintain focus and be relied upon not to slip.

She was shaking the tarp spread over her Beviin clear when the alert came in over her helmet comm display. Ship coming in, registered to the Clans. Looked like she'd be having some company after all. It was still at the edge of the system, making its way through the gravity bands, so Ranna headed inside and put a kettle on before retrieving a set of bedding from the storage closet to place on an unused bunk. The newcomer could make their own bed. She then went to check the sweep of the surrounding systems and various spy satellites scattered about Pii IV and the Pii system. Finding only the usual traffic along the Mara Corridor, she waited for whomever was coming to touch down on the unused landing pad.

 

[Athena Saxon]

Tag: Ranna Sejast

The gunship made its way toward the planet, waiting to pass through the gravity bands to officially communicate her arrival and draw a bead on the outpost location.

The world looked as lonely as she had been told. Maybe the fact that the planet and system were being monitored by a sole warrior made it seem all the more remote. Well, that number was about to double.

As an apprentice herself, she understood why she was posted to the remote frontier. You earned your way up in the Saxon clan. In reality, Athena was pretty sure it was not her that was seen as a valuable addition to the outpost, but the ENCL-G10 Oya'karir-class gunship she piloted. It would add quite a bit of firepower to the Mandalorian presence.

Nearing Pii IV, the Korun adjusted her scanners to pick up the outpost, and activated the comms. She sent an automated signal that transmitted the ship's ID, so the base could confirm the arriving vessel with their manifest. The heavily forested surface showed little to no sign of civilization, aside from the sparsely dispersed logging operations. As she neared the outpost, its isolation was quite apparent. The ship settled on a small empty pad. A covered starfighter sat nearby on the only other landing pad.

After completing the landing cycle and shutting down the ship's systems, Athena checked her armor and donning her helmet. The former Auretti officer gathered her gear on a small hover sled along with some supplies and headed down the gangway for the short walk to the main outpost building. Looking up, she made her way to the main entrance, awaiting for the doorway to be opened.

 

[Ranna Sejast]

Tag: Athena Saxon
The codes checked out according to the terminal and scanner, so Ranna confirmed the Oya'karir's IFF and sent coordinates. Then she moved to the bank of large windows and watched as the gunship came in for its landing. It was an ugly thing. but then the most effective tools for war often were. Aesthetics often weren't practical and practicality was what won wars. She watched from behind the transparisteel windows as another woman also in red armor disembarked with her belongings before making her own way down the stairs to open the door for the newcomer.

"Olarom," she greeted Athena with an outstretched hand. "I'm Ranna, welcome to the middle of nowhere and the next month of your life. You ever get stationed to one of these posts before?" She spoke as she lead the way inside and to the room set aside for Athena. The outpost was clean, if sparse with bare walls echoing the exterior's brutalist architecture. The room had several bunks with bare mattresses and pillows save the one sporting the folded linens and blankets. "Fresher is between your room and mine so we've got some privacy. I can give you the tour after you're settled in if you like."

 

[Athena Saxon]

Tag: Ranna Sejast

Athena watched her new comrade descend the stairs. The warrior's armor was red like her own, but of a different design. She assumed it was true beskar'gam, where hers lacked beskar. She had yet to earn Madnalorian armor for her cuirass.

"Olarom, vod." Athena offered. If her tone suggested a lack of enthusiasm, it was not directed at Ranna, she rather looked forward to getting acquainted. It was that the assignment promised little excitement "Athena. Its my first since joining a clan ." The Korun added, her tone lifting a bit as her gaze swept over the spartan building. As a former member of the Aruetti, she had manned posts like Pii IV before. It was one of the roles of the Enclave's non-mandalorian foreign legion to serve as garrisons, guards and sentries.

Athena followed her new comrade into the spartan buidling, taking in the sparse quarters, noting her bunk and where the 'fresher was located. "Vor'e, that sounds good." Athena affirmed regarding a tour of the facility. She took one of the two plasteel crates and a weapon case from the hover sled and set them near the bunk with the blankets. Returning, she laid her hand on the remaining crate. "Some supplies they sent. Not sure what it is." The Saxon explained. "Where should I put it?"

 

[Ranna Sejast]

At the mention of the clans, Ranna shifted a little, but nodded in understanding. "Sounds like you've done this before then." She was glad that Athena seemed more relaxed than the few of the more macho and super disciplined Mandalorians she'd run across. Feeling out what sect of the culture someone she'd just met ascribed to had been one of the less enjoyable aspects of joining the Enclave, especially before she'd even learned about the differing cultures of the sects and clans.

Squatting next to the crate, she ran her hands along the lid. "Please please be some dark Kestri." With the latch toggled the lid slid back to reveal a mix of mundane items and a smaller case of ales, one of which she pulled out to examine. "Hey not bad. Whoever packed this up has some decent taste." Ranna put it back before setting the sled to follow her so she could place the various things where they belonged, including leaving the ale in the kitchen.

That also served as the perfunctory tour. There wasn't much to see that wasn't fairly self-explanatory. "And here's the post itself." Ranna said as they ended in a darkened control center. The narrow room was lined on two walls by scan and communication consoles quietly beeping away as they worked, their screens and lights the primary illumination in the cold room with the lights off. "Anything coming up the Mara Corridor from the Corellian Run direction gets scanned, logged, and analyzed. We also intercept a good deal of the area's subspace communication. Primary reason of course being early warning for the Enclave and tracking ne'er-do-wells." Ranna shrugged, sending a red pauldron up. "We don't really need to mess with it unless an alarm sounds. Its mostly automated and we just babysit the place."
Athena Saxon

 

[Nephthys Nardithi-Verd]

Ranna Sejast | Athena Saxon |

It was her trip onboard the Majesty of the Hyperlanes that gave Nephthys her introduction to the Mandalorians. She had been ecstatic when she had won a ticket to cruise. Mid vacation, the vessel had been hijacked, and she, along with every other passenger onboard the lavish vessel was held captive. Some of the elitists were robbed at gunpoint. The reason? The owner shirked a past gambling debt. The grantor put out a bounty. The ship was commandeered by the Mandalorians, in exchange for the lives of the crew. The owner actually tried to bargain. Jokingly, the Mandalorians made an effort to give the passengers the trip they paid for, in distance only. They steered the vessel all the way back to the hands of its creditors. Passengers needed to arrange their own transportation home. Nephthys decided she would save her money, and learn about the ways of her ancestors of whom she had absolutely no knowledge.

She was likewise born into a provincial life. The young woman had been removed from her family home on Dathomir while still a toddler, a move claimed to have been made to save her soul from damnation. Her Mother was tortured to death for her heritage. Her Father never even knew she was alive. She was lied to about her early years, and raised in the religious zealot boarding school erected by the notorious extremists, the Ashlan Crusade. She was taught that her natural gifts were evil, and cultists truly did believe it. She was forced to deny her nature and repent for her every private thought against the one true goddess of light.

Her stand-in parents were members of the teaching staff, who lied to her about her origins. It was not until they died that she learned of her true heritage, her history scribbled down in a file folder marked with her name, like she were some sort of acquisition. The pages of her file jotted with checkmarks to say that her entire upbringing were an organized experiment. Her's is just one case number among many other files.

The idea of her Father possibly living, led her to seek him out. When she found him, she soon discovered his obsessions surrounding a culture to which she could not conform. His practices as that of just another cult, strictly adhering to beliefs rooted in the opposite extreme as that of the Ashlan Crusaders, worshipping the darkest of arts. While she loves her Father and his wife, after the hijacking of the Majesty of the Hyperlanes Nephthys would find herself open to viewing the galaxy through her own eyes, and not be returning home to him any time soon.

The cold of…wherever the hell she had been dropped off since revealing her honest interest in these people, like it matters where or by what name this frozen tundra exists…it happens to be so extreme, that the girl took her placement as a test, and possibly a punishment, for having spoken at all directly to her Mandalorian captors.

There seems to be nothing she can actually do here, so she just put herself to work with chores from day one. She did not believe herself capable of flying around in a jetpack or shooting…stuff…from a gauntlet, at targets. Despite the cold which she is not accustomed to, she awed at being welcome to witness how life could have been for her up to this point in time. She felt a remorse for the years and the family she had never known, and she tried to keep those emotions hidden.

Nephthys had worked on organizing the storage unit in days prior, so when the crates had been deposited, she appeared offering to assist with putting away the new stock.

"Hey," she greeted, as she met the others in the supply room.

​

 

[Athena Saxon]

Tag: Ranna Sejast , Nephthys Nardithi-Verd

Athena was as pleased as Ranna to see the gal among the supplies sent. She hoped they would share some of it that evening. In the meantime, the crates were resealed and the tour continued. Such as it was. A short corridor further down ended up in the main array room. Her visored eyes slid along the consoles, noting the collection of scanners, sensors, comms and compilers. None of them were unfamiliar. The dark room was illuminated by their various screens and scopes, the only sounds the soft hum of heat sinks and the occasional beep or tone confirming regular active scans were complete.

Though her new companion had not spoken it, Athena had the same thought as Ranna. A droid could do this. But in reality, it was not a good practice. A droid malfunctioning often can't identify its problem until its too late. And if, however unlikely, some sort of defense or martial action was required on the planet or in system, a droid could not respond as needed. So, there they were, two warriors waiting to hear that alarm that may never come. She sighed. "Alright, so watch the lights, listen to the tra."

Athena spun around, looking back down the hall. Her hand had already flown to the blaster at her side when she heard the sound from the bunk room. She could see a young woman handling the crates. That last thing she expected to see was someone else in the gods-forsaken outpost. She was not informed of another warrrior at the station. Turning to Ranna, she gestured down the hall. The girl wore no armor. "Where did that one come from?" She asked.

gal = ale, booze
tra = space, void

 

[Ranna Sejast]

Tag: Athena Saxon Nephthys Nardithi-Verd

Hand on holstered blaster, more a reaction to Athena's movement than surprise or voluntary action, Ranna looked back over her shoulder at the timid girl in the doorway. "Ah, her." She'd seen so little of Nephthys over the last few days that she'd practically forgotten about the other woman. "I sent a report off but haven't heard back yet. Was actually hoping you'd have a dispatch for me." Realizing she hadn't explained the near unexplainable presence of the aruetii, Ranna continued. "A ship flagged as Protectorate dropped her into the snow about a kilometer outside the defensive perimeter. Figured someone ex-enclave was on their crew and thought it was good for a laugh. Said her name was Nephentius or something, I've just been calling her Neph."

And that was about the extent of what Ranna knew about the girl. Nephthys had barely said five words to her but was staying out of the places she'd been forbidden and was at least trying to make herself useful. Really the only reasons she hadn't been shot as a spy. "Maybe it's time we all grabbed a gal and got to know one another."

Gal = ale, booze
Aruetii = traitor, foreigner, outsider

 

[Athena Saxon]

Tag: Ranna Sejast , Nephthys Nardithi-Verd

Athena relaxed, her hand slipping from the holsteed blaster, as soon as she saw Ranna drop her guard. She squinted as she eyed the woman, who only appeared from time to time as she passed in front of the bunk room doorway. "Neph, huh?" the Saxon apprentice hummed. The story Ranna conveyed was plausible. A reject abandoned to be dealt with by the Mandos. But it was Ranna's description of the girl as barely noticeable, quiet and unobtrusive that made Athena a bit suspicious. But, Ranna seemed fully capable in her judgement, so Athena left it at that. Not that she wouldn't keep an eye on the mysterious young woman.

Her new companion's mention of the ale and a little 'get-to-know' lifted Athena's sober mood. "Feth yeah, I'm for that." she replied, grinning beneath her helmet. The three of them would be living in close quarters, might as well get friendly. Athena moved back towards the room with her bunk. "Where does Neph sleep?" She asked Ran

 

[Ranna Sejast]

"She's got her own room." Ranna assured Athena off-handily. She didn't see the need to mention that it could be locked from the outside. Still the girl didn't seem to mind them talking about her, so Ranna lead them back to a sitting room that took advantage of the large windows to look out over the winter entombed forest and then went to fetch the gal.

Returning, she set the ale down on the table before working the seals of her helmet, taking it off to reveal her long face, narrow brown eyes, and plaited braids which she took a moment to shake out with the hand not setting her helmet down. "That's better," she said also reaching back to remove her jetpack before sitting back heavily in one of the stuffed chairs. "So introductions! I'm Ranna Sejast, no clan but." She leaned forward to take one of the drinks and worked the top free as she resumed talking. "Skull Squadron." Tossing the cap onto the table she took a pull of the drink as if she hadn't just mentioned being one of the Enclave's more notorious fighter pilots. "Ah that's good stuff."
Athena Saxon Nephthys Nardithi-Verd

 

[Nephthys Nardithi-Verd]

Ranna Sejast | Athena Saxon |

Nephthys tried to politely appear as if she wasn't listening. She figured she has to work to earn herself passage off this iceberg. She hopes her Father hadn't already plastered her face all over the holonet. She didn't think it prudent to ask about transmitting a message to him just yet; not to mention, having an unwillingness to say his full name allowed. The Ascendancy never had it against anyone, but just in case…she didn't want to be labeled before she even learns about her heritage.

She happily dropped what she was organizing the moment Ranna came to invite her into the other room for a chat. She was surprised to hear Ranna did not belong to a clan. Nephthys had read that one's clan is family, but didn't wish to overstep any politeness by inquiring about the situation. Nephthys had never heard of the squadron personally, but noted Ranna's pride about it.

"Nephthys Nardith." She cut her middle name off, because it is the name of a Nightsister, and might give away her ethnic background. She omitted her last name, for now. She was told that the Verd Clan were a big thing many generations ago. She looked to Ranna, then over at Athena, while she sat and took up an ale as well. In her mind she mulled over how much to tell about herself. She decided not to offer anything, unless asked. The rest of the galaxy would have considered her a bit of an oddball before she escaped the Ashland Crusade. Luckily she had some experience with how to engage with regular people socially, every day after her escape. Her shyness however, kept her a bit cautious.
​

 

[Athena Saxon]

Tag: Ranna Sejast , Nephthys Nardithi-Verd

Still curious, and slightly suspicious of the girl, Athena followed Renna and took a seat overlooking the stark landscape outside. What a bleak place. But one had to pay their dues to the clan, and she understood that. In the Aruetti, you start as a grunt and earn your way up.

When Renna returned with the ale, Athena likewise removed her helmet and shook out her raven-black hair. Her skin was a deep caramel-color, her eyes a dark mahogany. She took up a bottle and popped off the top with part of her gauntlet with such casual quickness one could imagine she did it often. Taking a deep drink she watched as the girl came in to join them.

Ranna started with the introductions. At the mention of the Skull Squadron, Athena choked a bit on too big of a swallow. Even as part of the Foreign Legion, She knew of the crack Mandalorian fighter squadron. it was especially unusual, since she was clanless. Athena harbored a fresh new respect for her new comrade. The other woman chimed in with her name, an unusual one that Athena mouthed to ensure she got the pronounciation correct. Nephthys.

"I'm Athena, Clan Saxon." The Korun Mando offered. She had little in the way of experiences to brag about. Though having seen a lot of action as a seasoned officer in the Aruetti, Athena had only had her first battle as part of the Enclave in the recent clash with the Sith on Ma'ar Shaddam. There she learned some hard lessons.

While she fully intended to get some more details from Nephthys, there was one question about Ranna that tugged at Athena. If Ranna was part of the renknowned Skull Squadron, why was she posted to this forsaken outpost? Athena was not one for handling things delicately. "So, how did you get posted here?" Her inquiry was followed by a long drink from her bottle.

 

[Ranna Sejast]

Gal swirled around her tongue as Ranna thought over how to answer the question before she swallowed. "There's an intrinsic relationship between these listening outposts and the fleet. I'm sure your briefing said that Pii Four scans all traffic on the Corridor. That information feeds our intel that helps determine fleet deployments and policing actions." Basic stuff she was sure Athena already knew and Nephthys could guess at. "I'm here to learn about the gear, its strengths and shortcomings. How it could be defeated or tricked. Think of it as familiarization like a sub-system on your armor. It may not be important or what gets the boys going, but you need to know its maintenance and a field fix or two." Her free hand moved a bit as she explained as if in demonstration. From what she knew of Clan Saxon they typically had it together on that sort of thing.

That was the answer that one could find in the textbooks so to speak and while it wasn't a lie, it was also there to make eager youth feel less snubbed by such a posting. The whole truth was, as Ranna continued in an off-hand way, "I'm also the newest member of the Squadron, so when it was our turn to put up someone for a rotation I got picked." She shrugged and took another sip of the ale. She didn't get into how she'd been tired of being pressed up against other people and had requested a more remote posting without realizing it meant being basically alone. "The mystery I want to know is, how did you end up tossed in a snowdrift on my doorstep?" She asked pointing a finger at Neph.

Athena Saxon Nephthys Nardithi-Verd

 

[Nephthys Nardithi-Verd]

Ranna Sejast | Athena Saxon |

Nephthys nodded in greeting back to Athena, who then asked Ranna about being stationed here. In her reply, Nephthys learned that the squadron is a big deal. Every detail about intel and study that Ranna shared regarding the usefulness of the outpost made zero sense to Nephthys. Having been raised in a cult reform school, she had very little experience or training in base operations. Being obligated to duty, she does however understand well, from her life experiences which began afterwards.

Nephthys was asked to reveal how she landed here. "Well…being brought here was my choice actually," she said truthfully. "My parents were both tribal. I'm just the result of a fleeting tryst." She shrugged. "I was told that my father was Mandalorian. I'm here to find out what that's all about." In reference to her Father being a Mandalorian she considers him to be dead to it, for Darth Metus who is very much alive, is far from being a Mandalorian; not to mention, she has no idea how he evolved from being a Nightbrother, a Mandalorian, then a Sith and a King. She wouldn't dare speak of such things to anyone…not yet anyhow.

Probably the weirdest fact about her life is having been imprisoned by the Ashlan Crusade, but she most certainly doesn't feel comfortable speaking about her Mother having been of Dathomiri roots either. 'Perhaps in time, if true friendships form,' she thought to herself. She knows the Nightsisters are taboo in practically every culture, even among some Sith factions.
​

 

[Athena Saxon]

Tag: Ranna Sejast , Nephthys Nardithi-Verd

As Ranna explained her role at the station, Athena nodded, chastising herself. She still had a lot to learn about being Mandalorian. If the apprentice had considered what Ranna had already told her about the station, Athena would have seen the outpost's significance. It was not to protect the remote planet, it was to look skyward, to track space traffic, to serve as surveillance and early-warning and feed info to the fleet.

Her confusion about Ranna's assignment was also a mis-perception soon corrected. Not only was Ranna there to serve a shift manning the monitors and sensors, but to understand the equipment to find flaws or areas of improvement. It was all significant for the success and survival of the Enclave. Athena offered a nod of undertanding, and in humility for being so rash in her initial assessment.

When it came to Nephtys, Athena was equally curious. The newest Saxon had nearly downed the first ale when the woman began to explain herself. The stranger's answer was still a bit vague, but plausible. Nephthys sought information on her father, and in that, some of her identity. It was bold to intentionally have yourself left at such a remote Mandalorian post without warning or invitation, and she gave Nephthys credit for that courage. But that didn't explain where she came from. Athena wondered who her mother's people were. That would reveal more about who this girl.

"Well, you find yourself drinking with two Mandalorians, and living in close quarters with them." Athena quipped. "So I suppose you'll learn quite a bit." She laughed, hefting her bottle in a gesture and then upending it, finishing the last bit of ale inside.

 

[Ranna Sejast]

Nephthys' answer left Ranna frowning and she shook her head thoughtfully. "Aren't Kestri and the other planets open? Why choose to come here on a Mandalorian ship and be left abandoned? Pii isn't close to anything." This wasn't a place to go for answers. The hand holding her bottle pointed two fingers over at the strange girl, the remainder wrapped around the glass neck. "You're lying, or hiding something, which is the same thing. Why are you here?" Ranna asked again, leaning forward to draw closer around the table.

Originally she'd been the most interested in her fellow Mandalorian, she'd been Ranna's chance to learn more about the clans and they way things worked away from the fleet where they were all mixed into their own pseudo-clan order with clear ranks and divisions. But now she'd been presented with a mystery, and a potentially dangerous one at that, and her instincts weren't about to let her sit back and ignore it until satisfied. Nephthys was on the verge of coming clean, and she wasn't about to let her deflect out of it anymore. Then she'd find out what she'd meant by 'tribal Mandalorian.' Her ale sat in the mostly-full bottle she was still holding, forgotten for now.

Tag: Athena Saxon Nephthys Nardithi-Verd

 

[Nephthys Nardithi-Verd]

Ranna Sejast | Athena Saxon |

The whole story is a long one and she honestly still can't believe it happened to her. She was a victim of pirates. Her only intrigue honestly was in regard to her heritage, a being pirate is not on her list of life experiences. Ranna seemed suddenly testy, and her inquisition did not ruffle Nephthys' feathers at all.

"I didn't fly me here. You can always ask them the reason why here." She knows exactly why they left her here…because they stopped here first along their route back to their destination, and they griped over and over about how she was asking them too many questions. "I think its solely just because they are men, and they didn't seem the type who could handle a woman being on their ship. Plus they was older and just ick," she added truthfully.

She remembers commenting on how she never saw snow before, and the joke must be on her because while it looks beautiful…because sparkly she found it to be truly detrimental to her nature, and any world.

"I thought I made myself perfectly clear that I ain't got experience in anything you got going here. I practically starved to death before I figured out how to open the latch on your food storage compartment. I thought you understood that I'd go anywhere if it don't cost credits, because I got none to my name at the moment."
​

 

[Athena Saxon]

Tag: Ranna Sejast , Nephthys Nardithi-Verd

While Athena was still suspicious of Nephthys, she had let the girl's comments go for the moment. But Ranna didn't. The resident senior warrior didn't buy the story, and called Nephthys out, even calling her a liar. This was getting good! Grabbing another bottle of ale Athena popped the top and leaned forward on her elbows, a wry grin touching the corner of her mouth, eager to hear the woman's response.

With a sense of indignation that revealed some spine, Nephthys offered her rebuttal to Ranna's accusations. It was plausible that she didn't request Pii as a destination, the reasoning didn't fully fly with Athena. Having been associated with the Mandalorians, both as an outsider and a new addition, Athena found that they were quite the opposite of misogynous. Mandalorians didn't see the separation of men and women as far as their value, but judged everyone on merit. The distinction Mando's made between people whether someone was Mandalorian versus outsiders. Aruetti were held at arms length, even looked down upon. But there were a lot of different types within the Mando'ade, and some more tolerant, or less, that others.

"If they just wanted to get rid of you, it probably didn't have anything to do with you being a woman, it was with you being aruettii, an outsider. Especially if you showed no value to them, or were annoying. You might consider yourself lucky that they didn't just put a blaster bolt through your pretty head and toss you out an airlock."

Athena glanced at Ranna, looking for the brunette to resume her inquiry. Athena offered her comment, but would leave the interrogation up to her new vod. The Korun took a swig of her new bottle of ale. Dark eyes volleying between the Mando fighter pilot and the stowaway.

 

[Ranna Sejast]

"Ah see? Didn't know that." She said to Nephthys' admission of being broke. Athena was right as Neph was learning, Mandalorians stuck together even when they didn't know one another. Her and Athena had just met and had instantly banded together against the outsider based solely on her story not making the most sense to them. The two women weren't even from the same clan, that hadn't mattered. Mandalorians had each other's backs and stuck together. Until they didn't at least. Then things could get very bloody very quick.

She leaned back into the cushions of her chair and took a drink from her ale having decided not to press the stranger further. "And if they hate women then they really don't belong in the enclave. Something like three of the clans are run by women?" She turned to Athena for confirmation on that. Ranna didn't really pay attention to clan stuff. "Anyways. Like I said, my money's on former member with his new Protectorate buddies having a laugh at our expense." The transport's ID was tagged and logged in the outpost records and she'd sent it along in her report about Nephthys so she wasn't worried about it in the long run.

Tag: Athena Saxon Nephthys Nardithi-Verd