First Contact... and Recovery

[Alanna Noymara]

SOMEWHERE IN THE KATHOL OUTBACK
CLOSE TO DEMONSGATE​

In the blackness of space, stars twinkled, celestial bodies moved, but no sound was made in the vacuum. Such was the way of the Galaxy. Also as was the way of the Galaxy, unnatural bodies occasionally were lost in the infinite void; and as it so happened, one such unnatural body flew through space in a way which, to a distant observer, would seem slow and graceful, though the reality was that the thing, a pockmarked, dull-grey YT-series freighter, was moving at hundreds of thousands of miles in an hour; while that would seem like a lot of speed to one who was unused to space travel, compared to other vessels it actually was slow, due to the fact that it was not accelerating on its own, and had not done so for centuries ever since an emergency drop from hyperspace had dropped the vessel in the Kathol Sector long ago.

To any normal person observing the thing, it was little more than a piece of junk, a relic of a bygone age that was next to worthless. But again, the truth of the matter would elude those who were unable to see it: The life support on this ship had given out long ago, and would need to be reactivated on auxiliary power; yet within the vessel, a life remained, safe within the confines of a slab of heavy carbonite. While the antigravity of the ship had been turned off eons ago, leaving ancient objects and fossilized corpses floating peacefully, this slab was undisturbed, having been clamped the floor of the freighter's cargo bay. By this slab was a likewise anchored astromech droid of an ancient make, it having long since powered down to conserve energy.

The person inside the slab was unconscious, unaware, and yet their life glowed through the Force, through space and time, a signal to any who could sense it. And so it would remain, until the Force willed someone to find this vessel and the being inside...

(( [member="Bryce Bantam"] ))

 

[Bryce Bantam]

The first GR-150 experimental dropped out of hyperspace in a violent manner. Like all ships in the testing phase she had her "kinks" the needed to be worked out and the first test of the hyperdrive had not gone to plan.

"Feth it sanders, I told ya the [SIZE=9pt]Zephyr hyperdrive was not fully calibrated."[/SIZE] Bryce said to the young engineer at his side.

"Sorry sir, guess I was so giddy to get the testing started I ..." The man continued.

"Look, its all good, we seem to be in one piece right?... Navigator status?" Bryce said

As the captain commands, the Navigators of the [SIZE=9pt]Resu[/SIZE] would obey. Swimming in there suit filled of distilled hydrogen infused water the 150 housed one of the greatest undiscovered treasures in the galaxy. The Resu navigators and their Liquid metallic hydrogen technology. For you see instead of circuits and conduits of metal and plastoid. Large arteries of the "live metal" flow through the ship allowing these unique masters of electric "feel" the ship as if it was part of their own body. With cybernetically altered minds and a natural feel for three-dimensional navigation, a brood of four or more are able to operate all system on board the ship just as a host of computers would, but with the understanding and wisdom that only a sentient mind can bring.

"The body is hurt my captain, the long engine was not able to maintain balance. I estimate it will take the body thirty minutes to regain balance." The brood leader said.

Bryce was about to comment on making repairs but before he could the Navigator spoke again.

"Captain, we do not swim alone in the void. I can see a body, an old one floating close to us. It looks to be dead or at the very least near death..." The Brood leader continued

The Navigator was of course speaking of the YT-series freighter that lay lifeless before them. The Resu did not think like many races so their speech was sometimes foreign even when run through the translators. But Bryce had know these people for years and understood what she meant. He walked over to the sensor suit and looked over the readings.

"Fething cool, have not seen one of those in years. Navigator tractor it aboard!" Bryce said cheerfully excited to have found a new toy to play with.

Within minutes the old tramp freighter was shoe horned into the ships limited shuttle bay. Bryce had to leave the shuttle out in space to make room but he could always come back for it if he wanted to. As he broke the seal of the ship he noted the air was old and cold like a tomb. Not one to let that bother him he soon was like a kid in a candy store checking out the ship for what old treasures it may hold. It was not long into his search when he came upon a slab of carbonate and a astromech that sat next to it. The old droid had run out of power years ago but had strangely tied the carbonate slab into the ships backup power. As he walked over to take a closer look he saw the image of a woman screaming upon the face of the slab. Taking out a medical device (as a doc he always carried one) he scanned the block with peaked interest.

"Feth she is alive, NAVIGATOR crash cart and medical team to the shuttle bay stat!" Bryce commanded

Whoever she was she was in luck Bryce had discovered her. For soon she would awake in the 150's medical bay, most likely in a bacta take to help with her healing. Though what state she would be in would be anyone's guess.

[member="Alanna Noymara"]

 

[Alanna Noymara]

The slab of carbonite, once the medical team arrived, was eventually released once the freighter's auxiliary power was activated successfully. Standing the slab up with a combined effort, the group stood back as one pressed several buttons on the frame and began the thawing process.

Slowly, the block of carbonite began to glow red with heat, warming up and evaporating, with a bright light that appeared in patches growing more and more before revealing skin; beautiful skin, unblemished and smooth; she looked to be in her late teens or very early twenties. In a few moments, the woman's entire body was revealed, showing a beautiful face, eyes closed, with damp red hair framing her face, sticking to it, strands sticking to her cheeks. Her clothes, also damp from the thawing, were simple and rugged, suggesting that she lived somewhere in the Outer Rim.

The young woman, still unconscious, fell down to the floor like a sack of potatoes. For a few moments she did not move, before she began to twitch and cough, her eyes still closed. The med team moved into position to help her, and she weakly protested by way of feeble movements that weren't helped by her shuddering and spasming. But she was alive, and seemed to be relatively healthy-- minus the hibernation sickness, of course.

[member="Bryce Bantam"]

 

[Bryce Bantam]

"Sanders, Seriously? What by the twin moons of Monkni possessed you to start the start the revival sequence? I had this all planned out, we take her to the med-bay, we stabilize her and then let her rest in a bacta solution. What is with you and this need to act to rash man?" Bryce asked.

The young engineer didn't know how to respond, instead he just stared and the young lady he had just awoken and was putting up a weakened resistance against her saviors. Bryce turned his attention from the rash boy to the young girl who was now coming back to the land of the living. Moving her to a near by metal chair the team began to take medical readings and assess her condition. Bryce stepped forward and waved the medical crew aside. Taking [member="Alanna Noymara"] hand he wanted her to be able to feel his presence before he examined her.

Alanna was strong with the force, Bryce could feel that now. There little accident here now seemed like a planned action, a will of the force. He was the right person at the right time, to help her. This is how he found the force manifested itself to him and he would honor the calling.

"Hello miss, can you here me. You are safe, we are here to help." Bryce said.

 

[Alanna Noymara]

Alanna was only vaguely aware of her surroundings. She knew she was waking, but she had honestly never felt so sick in her life. She felt weak, clammy, nauseous-- barely able to keep herself from vomiting as she heard unfamiliar voices; one of which seemed to be berating another.

Then she felt a strong hand envelop her own, squeezing gently, yet firmly. A calloused hand, larger than her own; the hand of a man, she knew instinctively. Then next thing she knew, she had been lifted up and practically carried over to what she recognized dimly as a seat. And then he spoke:


"Hello miss, can you hear me? You are safe, we are here to help."

Perhaps it was the fog still pervading her mind, but the young woman was sure he was speaking as slowly and clearly as possible. She turned her face in the direction of his voice.

"Y-yes," she managed to say, in a Coruscanti accent that was at odds with her attire. "Yes, I can--"

Her eyes fluttered open, revealing them to be an utterly breathtaking light blue in color, but they seemed unfocused, as if she wasn't looking at him-- and she wasn't, because all she could see was darkness.

"I-- I can't see," she declared, a twinge of fear in her voice as her hand gripped the man's tightly. "Where-- Where am I? What happened to me?"

[member="Bryce Bantam"]

 

[Bryce Bantam]

"Please try and relax, you have hibernation sickness. The effects will fade in time, however this may help a bit." Bryce said trying to keep her calm.

As he spoke he let the hand not holding her's rise up to [member="Alanna Noymara"] eyes. Concentrating upon the force he felt it flow into his hand and through into her eyes. He hoped this would help with the lingering effects but with all illness the length and severity depended on the patient.

"Tried to heal your eyes a bit... as for where you are you're still on this old YT freighter. Do you remember how you came to be frozen in carbonate, anything about your recent past?" Bryce asked.

 

[Alanna Noymara]

She almost didn't hear the man's explanation for what had happened to her, due to the thoughts rushing through her mind, but her breath caught in her throat as she struggled to calm down.

Hibernation sickness? What? she thought, confused. Then she tensed as she felt his free hand cover her eyes, and while she couldn't feel anything physically, she was aware of the Force pouring into her, and she felt a sudden surge of hope. Was this man a Jedi, or at least a Lightsider?

When he pulled his hand away, she blinked; her vision hadn't cleared up much, if at all. Just a big dark blur. She let out a long exhale, her shoulders slumping, as he spoke further, asking about her being frozen in carbonite.

"Thank you... I'm not sure that did anything, but thank you for trying. I... I don't remember being on a YT-series freighter, or being frozen in carbonite. The last thing I remember was being in Cloud City. I decided to celebrate my twenty-first birthday there... I was... I-I was walking along a hallway, minding my own business, when someone grabbed me; I struggled, and then I felt a sharp hit on my head before falling unconscious."

She paused, blinking her unfocused eyes, before a thought occurred to her. Arfour.

"My droid. My droid, Arfour, is he alright? Have you seen him?" she asked, and she struggled to stand, only to quickly sit down again with a grunt. Her muscles seemed far weaker than when she was last awake. Just how long had she been frozen?

 

[Bryce Bantam]

"Your welcome Miss, seems like you may have been kidnapped then..." Bryce said before being interrupted.

"Arfour huh, not sure we did find an astromech with you. Think it was what saved you all these years, it kept your status intact. Right now it is in the capable hands of my "Sady" a T7-S8E Astromech droid , she is old too, like yourself."

Bryce saw her try to stand but he knew she was far to weak to do so yet. Healing would take time and with her vitals stable she had plenty.

"Saw you try to get up there, gonna be tough in your state currently. Here let me take you to the med-bay we can get you all checked out and see how the repairs to your droid are going."

[member="Alanna Noymara"]

 

[Alanna Noymara]

Forcing herself to relax, Alanna listened to the man as he spoke, telling her that Arfour was alright. A wave of relief washed over her at that, but her mind stuck over something the man had said:

She is old too, like yourself.

Old? How could this man say she was old? And comparing her to a T7 astromech-- a droid that had been around thousands of years before she was even born?

... Just how long had she been unconscious?

She didn't protest as the man helped her up and led her toward a medical bay, but she shook her head in disbelief.

"I'm... I'm grateful you're helping me sir, but... I still don't know where I am, or who you are." she said, turning her head to face forward. "But you can use the Force... Aren't you worried you'll be hunted down?"

[member="Bryce Bantam"]

 

[Bryce Bantam]

"Oh excuse my manners, names Bryce, and you are just outside the Demonsgate system aboard my newest ship. She really doesn't have a name, we usually just call all our experimental ships by their series names. This is a corvette class called the "150".

Bryce continued the small talk as they felt the hanger an moved toward the med-bay.

"So about that force question, not sure if you are ready for this and all... BUT, that type of stuff is not really happening anymore. See the Empire fell well over eight hundred years ago. The galaxy is really different and all after the plague, more fractured and well a lot more force users also. But honestly we can talk more about that later. Most important thing is getting you feeling better."

Bryce lead [member="Alanna Noymara"] over to a private suite, a VIP set up it was its' own self contained room.

"Here we so, have a seat and rest here on the exam table. Now other than the sight and fatigue, anything else bothering you?"

 

[Alanna Noymara]

Alanna did her best to focus on what Bryce was saying after he introduced himself, but his almost casual admission of the Galactic Empire's fall more than eight centuries ago caused her thoughts to crash like a speeder bus running headlong into a permacrete wall.

"Eight... eight hundred...?" she muttered to herself in disbelief, her eyes still unfocused and staring blankly forward. She didn't resist as he sat her down in some separate room, but his asking of what was bothering her almost made her laugh.

"I... I just got told by a stranger who saved my life that I've been stuck in carbonite for about as long as Master Yoda's lifespan. To say things are bothering me would be the largest-- largest understatement in the Galaxy," she admitted, giving a mirthless chuckle. "Apart from that... I'm not feeling terribly good on my stomach."

[member="Bryce Bantam"]

 

[Bryce Bantam]

"Hey at least your not being hunted, look on the bright side. You got a whole galaxy you can explore out there without having to hide anymore." Bryce said with a smile.

It was in his nature to stay positive for those under his care and force knows [member="Alanna Noymara"] could use a little positivity with what she had gone through. Taking out a bottle from the cabinet Bryce opened it and handed it to Alanna.

"Drink this if you can, not the best tasting but the bacta will help you heal quicker. So from the feel of ya you're a forcer too huh. Where did you train?"

Bryce was trying to continue to make small talk. Hopefully if he learned a bit more about Alanna's past he could figure out how to help her integrate into the present.

 

[Alanna Noymara]

If Alanna were honest with herself, the idea that she wouldn't have to hide anymore while going around the Galaxy was a small comfort compared to the knowledge that everyone she knew was long-dead. But she forced it out of her mind for the moment as she was handed a drink, and carefully brought it to her lips.

She almost spat the drink out; she had never once wondered how bacta might taste, and she wasn't exactly pleased with what she discovered. Yet again, though, she plowed through it, swallowing the mixture.

"Uck..." she said, making a sour face. "Disgusting. Anyway... Since I apparently don't have to hide anymore, my name is Alanna Noymara. I was raised in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, before... before the Empire. I was twelve when the Clone Wars began, fought the Separatists the entire time, up to the Battle of Coruscant. Then..."

She paused, heaving a sigh.

"Anakin Skywalker betrayed us. Marched clones into the Jedi Temple and just started... Started killing everyone... My friends... My Master... I escaped, obviously. Spent the next six years in the Outer Rim, raiding Imperial industrial outposts and the like, stealing weapons, arming rebels... Anything to help fight them. Until Bespin."

She took another swig of her drink, hoping the foul taste would help distract her from her memories. Now she thought she understood why some people became alcoholics.

[member="Bryce Bantam"]

 

[Bryce Bantam]

It was a little weird hearing someone talk about the distant past as though they were there. Funny thing was she had been, [member="Alanna Noymara"] was a time traveler of sorts, a person out of another era and it had to be unnerving.

"Sady, how are the repairs coming?" Bryce asked his crotchety old companion over the comms.

As a doctor Bryce could mend bones, heal scars but the mind and the soul were something he was not able to fix no matter how much he wanted too.. He was looking for something that might help Alanna emotionally and an old friend might just do that.

A tirade of foul mouth binary replied as Sady was, shall we say put off that Bryce was rushing her. Her final message was something to the effect of leave me the Feth alone you spoiled little brat, and control your hormones around that female, I know what trouble they get you into.

Bryce let out a sign and turned to Alanna again... "Well can't teach a four thousand year old astromech new tricks I guess. Till your buddy is back on his feet we should work on getting you moving. Think your up for a walk to the observation deck, view of the expanse should be breath taking."

 

[Alanna Noymara]

Alanna blinked, and her expression turned to surprise at Sady's outburst-- mostly because she could understand precisely what Sady was saying.

"Uh--" Alanna began, before clearing her throat and drinking the mixture again to hide her embarrassment. Grimacing again at the taste, Alanna shook her head slightly.

"Blegh... I can try to walk, sure-- but I hope that quip about a nice view was a joke, because I still can't see yet," she said, before pausing and chuckling to herself.

[member="Bryce Bantam"]

 

[Bryce Bantam]

Even as a force master, good ole awkward BB always seemed to come up when he talked to a pretty stranger, even one with out her eye site. May have been one of the reasons [member="Joza Perl"] had offered Bryce the chance to employ some of her Zeta agents. Almost on command an attractive young Zeltron walked into the suit. With balms and bacta patches she walked close enough to give Bryce a little too friendly peck on the cheek before walking over to [member="Alanna Noymara"].

"Here you go sugar, let me check out those eyes." With the touch of a skilled healer she applied an aloeish smelling balm to her eye lids and then placed two batch patched over each eye.

"Should be right as rain is a few minutes love, till then you are in good hands."

Alanna was most likely not able to see Layla but if her noes was working then she would be able to smell the sweet Zeltron pheromones as Layla left in the air as she worked. With a gentle rub of Bryce's shoulder she whispered something into his ear before leaving the room. After she left Bryce sat with a goofy grin on his face only to snap out of it a few seconds later before he looked back as Alanna with a start.

"Oh, aaa, that was Layla, my assistant..." Bryce continued on like this for a few minutes. He was trying to keep things light with talk of recent events and favorite foods. When it was time to removed the bandages he did so with skilled hands. Before he let Alanna open her eyes he held his hands to them and attempted one more minor force healing. This time he was much more intent on the effect, to Alanna his hand would feel warm, like two heating pads flowing healing force into her.

"Ok, now try opening your eyes and lets see if you can well... see."

 

[Alanna Noymara]

Alanna wasn't completely aware of Bryce's own embarrassment, but she did furrow her brow a bit as she heard someone else enter, and she blinked as a female voice spoke while its owner applied some sort of healing agent and bandages to her eyes.

"Uh, th-thank--" she tried to say, before the Zeltron's pheromones wormed their way through her nostrils. Her face gained the briefest expression of surprise, before she got a relaxed, goofy grin of her own. Zeltron, definitely... She'd always appreciated Zeltrons...

She snapped out of it with a start as Bryce spoke to her, and calmed herself as he tried to make small talk. She mostly let him speak, allowing him to fill her in on things that had happened in the past eight centuries-- almost nine, really-- and didn't protest when he tried his hand at healing her eyes again. Once more she felt the Force flow from his hand and into her eyes, but she kept her eyes closed, breathing slowly as he worked.

When Bryce removed his hand and base her to open her eyes, she did so-- slowly, her eyelids fluttered and opened.

And she could see.

Well, not completely. Her vision was still somewhat blurry, but she was certain that would clear up quickly enough. She smiled a beautiful smile, clearly elated.

"I-I can see! Well, sort of... Things are still a little blurry. But I can see! Oh, thank you so much, Mister Bantam!"

[member="Bryce Bantam"]

 

[Bryce Bantam]

Bryce was relieved to see Alanna had regained her sight. Hibernation sickness was tricky at times, some never regained their sight due to the eye injury that can accure when the process is not done correctly. Thankfully this appeared to not me the case with Alanna. Bryce walked over and stood close enought to her so she can see him without being so close it may be threatening or an invasion of personal space.

"Your welcome and call me Bryce [member="Alanna Noymara"], all my friends do. So now that you can see what do you say we take that walk?"

If she said yes she would be taken down to a small glass dome near the back of the ship, one that would have an amazing view of the space beyond.

 

[Alanna Noymara]

Alanna was positively giddy, bouncing up and down on her toes as she had often done growing up among the Jedi. She could see, and the blurriness itself was fading quickly too!

"Oooh, yes~! I'd love to!" she replied to [member="Bryce Bantam"] happily, smiling beautifully. "Now that I know what it's like to be blind, even if just for a little while, I think I'll have a much greater appreciation of things I can see."

((Sorry for dropping off the radar, real life came knocking and got in the way.))

 

[Bryce Bantam]

[member="Alanna Noymara"] (NP stuff happens, was delayed a bit myself responding)

Threw the observation window Bryce looked at the waves of red, yellow, blue and deep purple danced outward in a beautiful display of a star's end.

"Folks call it the eye, matter blown by the explosion of a supernova back lit by new star being born from it. Star stuff, cool as feth if you ask me. Was there a race that lived around the star, are new races evolving in the young star nursery. The galaxy is just so big and here we are, connecting to it all by the living force. Amazing stuff if you ask me."

"So I know this is all new to you Alanna so this question my be a bit to soon, but I kinda want to ask. Any plans of what you want to be next?"