Let's See What We Can Find (Holden)

[KitKat]

The Great Library - Ossus

Sometimes when the world is turned upside down you have to get back to basics. Katarine Ryiah was certainly feeling upside down these days. The galaxy had changed seemingly over night. She had gone from fighting a war against the Empire to suddenly being thrust into a galaxy where the Empire was a mere ankle biting puppy looking for a piece of the doghouse.

The Jedi (could she even call herself that anymore?) needed information if she was going to figure this out. The problem was you couldn't exactly just walk up to someone and ask them questions about this without them looking at you like you were crazy. The last thing she needed was to be committed to an asylum so she had to play this pretty close to the chest. She didn't know who to trust yet.

So she'd gone searching for information. The Great Library seemed like a good place to start. She could at least see what happened to the war and find out what date it was.


[member="Holden Tark"]

 

[Holden Tark]

Everyone's world was upside down, at least if you were Corellian. The destruction of the planet had caused many Corellians to abandon their home and find something new to do for a living. Some joined the military, others found places to live that would let them alone, and others, like Holden, changed. He had been one to keep the law, now he was one who broke it when convenient. There was good credits to be made on the black market which revolved around ancient relics of the mumbo jumbo forcey kind. Holden was looking for one now to be precise.

The Great Library on Ossus was one place which had enough, if one knew where to look. Holden had gotten good at digging around until he found something of value. Holocrons fetched a good price, but everyone could find those. What Holden was after were actual talismans, artifacts, objects of power. The real credits were found in those.

His attire was simple, burgundy colored everything except the compression shirt he wore for warmth, it was blue. He'd been traveling for a few days so his face looked it. Four days of growth to some men was a full beard, but not to Holden. He managed to be blessed with little hair, though certain worlds made him think it was a curse.

The Library portion itself was not where to find things, but it was the place to start. The archives contained a list of everything in the facility, but not always the location. If a location was listed, it was likely gone. If not, then chances were it was available to salvage for a good price. When Holden came, he usually was able to get in and out undetected, but today, someone was in the archives. He couldn't just shove her out of the way could he? No... he couldn't. Of all the things Holden was, a jerk wasn't one of them. No he was going to have to play this smooth.

"Great day to be doing some research, huh? What did they send you here for, routine study, or you looking for something specific?"

That was one way to just break the ice.

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Katarine was in over her head. Not only were half of the records unfamiliar to her, but they also used a technology she had never seen. A normal person would have been frustrated to high hell, and even the Jedi Master was starting to frown as the frustration finally broke the facade of calmness and inner peace.

She had decided to try and figure out first what year it was. Next she planned to figure out what was going on in the galaxy and eventually look up her home planet to see what became of her family. Unfortunately she couldn't really do any of that because she couldn't figure out the technology. Katarine came from a world with very primitive technology. She had adjusted to the galaxy, or at least she had adjusted to the galaxy as she knew it. This technology was so far beyond what she had learned she was lost.

Her unfamiliarity with the technology wasn't the only thing that made her stand out. Her attire was also out of place. Katarine wore what she always wore, which may have been odd for a Jedi in the galaxy she knew, but was flat out of place everywhere in this galaxy. She had on a black flight jacket, but it looked like it was from centuries ago. She also had on a tight white tank top that was made before compression suites were made so offered very little warmth. Her flight pants looked old too and Katarine wore them skin tight right down to the thigh high black boots she wore. She looked out of place to say the least and she was certainly feeling that way.

She leaned her head against a shelf in frustration and jumped slightly when she heard a voice. She hadn't felt him coming. She glanced over at him and smiled, a gesture that showed the kindness in her deep green eyes. "Oh I'm looking for a little bit of everything to be honest. How about you?"

She realized as she asked that she might not be allowed here. She didn't even know who owned the planet. She had put her former Jedi Investigator undercover skills to use and had gotten in, but for all she knew he was some security officer here to kick her out. It was perhaps the most frustrating thing about today, not being able to trust anybody. Katarine was an extremity kind and submissive person and she hated having to think everyone had bad motives.

[member="Holden Tark"]

 

[Holden Tark]

As Holden rounded the corner, he noticed the rest of her outfit. Wow it was ancient, though if he were honest the first thing he noticed was how the outfit fit her. What!? Holden was Corellian and a man, of course he noticed. Though he also noticed she was very out of place and nervous because of it. He didn't know how, but he'd always been good at reading people. It was a skill he had he supposed.

"Something specific, but I don't know what it is yet," he winked, then motioned for the kiosk. "May I?"

He stepped in at the terminal next to her, the question more a formality than something he wanted answered. Holden started going through the inventory listings.

"Wow it's been a week already! Time sure flies. I'm bad with keeping track of the days when I'm in space. Something about no sun that messes with the internal clock."

Now it was time to find out what she was looking for. Maybe he could help her, or better, she could help him. That was the thing about his job, no relic, no credits. He had to get paid to eat, and he had to eat to live. Sometimes that meant getting help, as long as he didn't have to share the earnings. Cold? Maybe, but Holden was trying to take care of himself. There was no one else anyway.

"So what specifically do you need to find. Don't tell anyone, but I really like libraries. My mom used to work for one. I can pretty much find anything you're after. Then we can find what you want, and what I want. The library can be lonely..."

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Katarine nodded when he asked to use the Kiosk, though he didn't need her to. She glanced sideways at him, not wanting to snoop but at the same time wanting to know how to turn the machine on in the first place.

He mentioned it had been a week and Katarine had a bright idea. She glanced back at her own screen and said causally, "It has? Wait are you sure? What is the date today?" It seemed casual enough but it was one of the questions she desperately needed an answer to.

"Err well I would love to help you but I don't know how much help I'm going to be. To tell you the truth I'm sort of lost." She pushed the hair behind her ears and frowned at the screen in front of her. "What I mean is I'm not very good at libraries."

That was the least of her trouble today of course.

[member="Holden Tark"]

 

[Holden Tark]

"Well, you'll need more than today's date to get your outfit into 844 ABY, but... I really think you got this sexy retro thing going on so..."

Holden smiled, and at least she had a date now. Though had Holden known she needed to know the year, he would have just told her. The Netherworld events had left everyone upside down. People had been raptured, other appeared out of nowhere. Holden didn't know all the details, but he knew that some came from other dimensions or times. Considering all he lost was Corellia, Holden figured he got off easier than some. Still it was hard to lose a home.

"I'm sure you'll be fine around the library. Just stick with me and I'll make sure you find what you need. Though you'll definitely have to help me then."

Holden gestured for the corridor to the left. There was a safe down that way, a vault, which had so many hidden compartments. Tark had always had luck getting items of value from the vault. One just had to look. He was certain this woman could help him look. All she needed to do was find things out of the ordinary.

"The name is Holden by the way. Nice to meet you."

He offered his hand for a handshake. Hopefully that wasn't too corny.

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

"844 ABY?" Katarine froze and looked at him in shock. The events of the Netherworld might seem normal to him, but Katarine had no idea what was going on. She didn't realize she could simply ask strangers the date and they wouldn't look at her like she was crazy.

She swallowed hard, realizing that if he wasn't pulling her leg then she had traveled 840 - 850 years in the future. That explained the funny looking clothes, but how could that be possible? Time travel didn't exist. Or at least it hadn't existed when she was alive. Was that all it was? She wasn't sure. Not only did the date seemed to be messed up but the faces, the factions, the galaxy itself seemed different.

Katarine realized he was introducing himself and she smiled and took his hand and shook it. "It's a pleasure Holden. My name is Katarine." She smiled again and stuffed her hand inside her jacket pocket.

"What is it you are looking for? Maybe I can help you and in the process you could help me figure out a few things?" She was spinning in circles. She just wanted to know more about him and his goals to see if she could trust him not to lock her up in the crazy house.

[member="Holden Tark"]

 

[Holden Tark]

Whoa, she was freaking out. Right... so she was one of them. Really time to play it cool. The woman was just as out of place as the clothes she was in, and he needed to help her. The look on her face though it was asking the question of trust. Could she trust him? Wrong question. The right question was should she trust him. Loss always made someone question how deep in a relationship to go. Holden rarely trusted anymore. Trust led to relationships that could be lost, or some bologna like that.

"It really is, and you're one of those that was one place and seconds later somewhere else. Forget what I came here for. Let's just grab five or six holocrons and get out of here. Get you somewhere that no one can find you until you adjust to what's going on."

He stopped. Then pressed on. They were already alone and safe for now. Holden pointed to the walls.

"I'm looking for anything that looks out of place. I sell relics on the black market when I'm really low on credits and don't feel like taking a bounty. There is a lot of wealth to be made in archeology, if you're high enough on the food chain. Me, I'm the guy who gets paid to find the stuff at dirt cheap prices compared to what things sell for at auction."

There was a corner slightly off. Holden pulled, pressed. Nothing. He sighed.

"What about you? Before you found yourself wherever you found yourself, what did you do?"

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Katarine was still idly pressing buttons, trying to figure out the kiosk she was at, when his words made her do a double take. "What? There are others like me?" She forgot the kiosk. He had her full and undivided attention now. She watched him with her mouth slightly open, fighting the urge to ask him a billion questions. The questions vanished for a moment however when he so willingly offered to help her, and when he said 'lets get you somewhere safe. ' Was she in danger? Was someone hunting the people like her?

Unfortunately Katarine was a being who cared little for herself when others were hurting. His explanation about making a small amount of credits... if that was even what the galaxy used anymore.... for selling things made her frown. She was taking time away from him, which meant taking money away from him.

"Here." She reached up to her neck, and pulled a chain up. On it hung a round pendent with carvings and jewels set in the center. She reached back and undid the clasp and handed it to him. "I'll pay you for your time. You answer my questions in exchange for this. It's a pendent from a civilization in the Unknown regions.... or at least it used to be where I came from. Where I came from it's worth quite a bit. Even if it's worthless in this galaxy you could probably fool someone into thinking its worth something."


She held it out for him and smiled at the look he seemed to be giving her. "I was a Jedi. I dug stuff up like this often. It isn't dangerous. Is it enough to buy a little of your time?" She smiled at him, figuring she didn't need to tell him it was a family heirloom. She didn't even know if her family existed wherever she was now.

[member="Holden Tark"]

 

[Holden Tark]

Holden just pocketed the Jewel and nodded. He didn't know exactly what to tell her, and wasn't sure he wanted to keep the necklace. It looked important. Perhaps if she were really a Jedi as she suggested then he'd be able to give the necklace back. They needed to find a couple of items that could garner some credit, and then get out of the library. It wasn't that people were hunting those like Katarine, but her own innocence wasn't going to keep people from taking advantage of her generous spirit. Yes, Holden figured that out... I mean who offered to pay for help anymore unprovoked anyway?

"I'll think about keeping it, but I'd rather you pay by helping me find some artifacts and such. Unless the jewel has any kind of magical properties I can't think of any of the buyers I work with wanting it. Besides, you need a lot more time to adjust to the galaxy than this jewel could get me, so..."

It sounded a bit harsh, and would have been had Holden known he had just been handed a family heirloom. In fact, he would not have taken it with that knowledge. Family was important to every Corellian, even if they didn't have them around anymore. Sure there were the kind that were dead beats, but what society didn't have outliers.

Holden continued to work at the walls, looking for anything that might reveal a hidden compartment leading to another vault not listed on the archive records. He just shrugged as nothing seemed to be working.

"You know, if you need a place to crash until you get stuff all sorted out, I have an extra room on my ship. The quarters aren't the biggest, or the fanciest, but it's better than other places I've stayed before. Oh, and I promise I'm not just trying to get some totally hot stranger that I just met to shack up with me. Seriously... if you need a place until you get on your feet, I'm willing to help."

Yeah, he thought he had to at least clarify. Why was it when men offered to genuinely help a woman that somehow sex was the assumed transaction for his kindness... well... okay to be fair, Holden already knew the answer to that question. Those kind of men ruined it for the others who really did try to be nice. Holden was no saint in the ladies department per se, but he wasn't a jerk either.

Tired of struggling with the wall, Holden just looked at the master Jedi. He smirked as he wiped the sweat from his brow. He'd been trying harder than he thought to get something to budge.

​"If you're concerned about paying, then you can help me track down some items that will help pay for the extra food costs and such." He motioned to the wall. "I'm not even looking in the right place am I?"

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

"I appreciate that." She smiled at him and nodded. He didn't seem particularly interested in her necklace and for all she knew it was worthless in this place. She didn't mind helping him find whatever he needed at all. It seemed an even trade for the information she needed.

She was watching him, lost in thought and speculation when he mentioned he was not looking in the right place. She blinked and seemed to come back to reality. She smiled sympathetically at him and shook her head. "No." She could sense the hidden areas he was looking for. She hesitated for a second, wondering if this was stealing. But she supposed that this library knowledge was for anybody and if someone chose to use that knowledge to track down ancient artifacts that really was their business.

She took a step closer to him, invading his personal space quite suddenly. The reason why became apparent however when she grinned and turned her foot. The tile below her feet turned and lit up. A second latter it rose from the floor with a data disk inside. "Try the floor." She grinned and stepped back to scoop up what they had found.

"How do we see whats on it?"

[member="Holden Tark"]

 

[Holden Tark]

"Great it's settled then, as soon as we get back to my ship I'll get the extra quarters ready for you."

She dodn't even crack at the shacking up comment, so she must have known him to be genuine. That was nice. Holden was looking forward to having some company around the ship even if it was a short time. Suddenly the woman was in his personal space, rather abrupt and unannounced. Though he could roll with it. He watched as she pivoted on her foot, putting pressure on the tile she was standing on, and produced a data disk.

"Um... I'm not sure. I've never ran across something like this before. The people who buy from me are usually interested in technology, artifacts, and holocrons. I have no clue what they would pay for a data disk I can't read. Though maybe there is a working kiosk around that still reads these things."

He was smiling. Holden couldn't believe how one small twist of her foot, and the Jedi had found a disk. Katarine certainly would be handy to have around if she could find things just like that. To say Holden was impressed had been an understatement. Either she was just that good, or there really was something to all this force nonsense.

Yes, Holden thought it was all nonsense, but only because he had never seen it produce anything useful. The galaxy was in war constantly and usually because of force users. Tark wasn't anti force user, but he was cautious. Which made it odd he was throwing caution to the wind to help Katarine. Maybe it was because she just exuded trustworthiness.

"So Katarine... can I call you Kat, Kate maybe... what's your plan going forward. You gonna search out the Jedi or try something else. I mean you have a major do over in front of you... anything you want, you could do."

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

She took the data disk from him and looked at it. Apparently the galaxy had stopped using these. "Well why don't we just walk around until we see a machine I recognize? If what you say is true then 850 years ago we used data disks. We used them when I was at the Jedi so I'll recognize the machine used to read them."

She lead the way, randomly down one of the aisles towards the older looking section. "You can call me Kat if you want. I'm not really sure. I used to be fighting a war against a terrible Empire. If we really are 850 years in the future it looks like my fight is over."

They reached a dusty and old looking door which wasn't event automatically opened. They went through and there were the older machines that read the disks. She took the disk gently from him and went over to the dusted machine. "Let's hope it still works." She put the small disk inside the chamber and flipped the on switch. It was super primitive technology that produced a projection onto the wall of what was on the disk. On the far wall a map appeared. She hit the next button and a diagram came up.

"What do you think it is?"

[member="Holden Tark"]

 

[Holden Tark]

"I have no clue what it is... a treasure map maybe... wouldn't we be so lucky. We could keep it and get rich!"

The map followed by a diagram was not something he'd expect to see on a disk. It could have been anything, but the only way to really know was to study it further. Holden wondered if there was anyway to get one of those machines on his ship. With all the antiques he worked with, he needed a way to read outdated tech.

"Well this event you went through, the one that brought you here, it fracked everything up big time. You got pulled into the future, some disappeared, and my home, Corellia, it broke into a lot of pieces. Funny, people call it Brokellia sometimes. A lot of us aren't doing what we used to. Your war is over, I don't keep the law anymore. Funny how life can be sometimes."

Funny was the wrong word, and Holden was clearly not being humorous. There was a loss in his voice, one that could never be filled. Kat could try to fill the void the loss of a home brought, but she had lost things too, more than Holden had. The thing was, the Jedi couldn't fix everything, and hopefully Holden could help her see it was time to think of herself for once.

"Anything else on that disk? We might seriously consider keeping it. Like I said we could always pawn off a few holocrons to fund something much bigger, something like that. It's not exactly Jedi work, or honest all the time, but I don't live too bad. Who knows, maybe you'll like it enough to stick with it."

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Katarine felt her face fall into a frown when he talked about his home. She placed a hand lightly on his shoulder and squeezed. "I'm sorry." She knew what it was like to watch your home burn, but could not imagine not even being able to visit and rebuilt. It sounded as if his life was truly messed up too.

She had more questions but she figured they could wait. Right now she wanted to figure the disk out for him so that hopefully he could turn a profit. She smiled as he mentioned she might like the work and pressed the next key again.

"The diagram looks like it's three parts of a relic known as the Emperors staff. It looks like it was buried in three separate parts in a tomb on Zygerria." She frowned, remembering what her twin had done to Zygerria. Was that even relevant here?

"If your buyers are interested in relics they might be interested in something like this. Besides a tomb probably has a lot more things in it too. Feel like going tomb raiding?" She glanced over her shoulder at him with mischief in her eyes. Katarine was an extremely playful person. An adventure through a tomb just sounded fun to her, but it could be dangerous.

"Or we could try to sell the disk. It's old enough to be an artifact I suppose but I don't know how good it would be. Maybe in a museum of ancient technology. Plus like you said there might be some holocrons hanging around here. Your call Scavenger."

[member="Holden Tark"]

 

[Holden Tark]

Emperor's staff, now that could pull some major credits. This was definitey something they needed to follow through on. It looked like she was going to be his partner in crime for a bit, and a tomb raid too. He caught the mischief in her eyes and smirked. The Corellian couldn't help it. Mischief was a second language to his people. She was certainly right that the tomb would have more to pick through than a library everyone knew about. It seemed there was one natural choice.

"We don't need to sell this thing. Looks like you and I are going to Zygerria!"

Holden walked over to the kiosk and ejected the disk and popped it into his pocket. He led the way out of the Library to where his ship had been landed. The vesel was simple, unique, and flashy all at the same time. It fit his personality. Lowering the ramp with the remote that was clipped to his belt, Holden ran up the deck. Once Kat was on board, he looke over his shoulder and motioned down the corridor.

"I got some caf in the lounge just up ahead, help yourself while I get your room ready for you."

The room was small so didn't take much time. Fresh sheets were put on the bed, just a plain white. Some air freshener sprayed, and that was about it. When it was done, Holden went to the flight deck to get the ship out of the atmosphere. Once they were in space he joined Katarine back in the lounge and grabbed his own mug of caf.

"As soon as you're ready we can make the jump to light speed. Though I thought you might want some fair warning."

He sipped his caf.

"Oh, and I'm guessing we need to stop somewhere to get you some clothes... I don't have any ladies stuff on board."

Well not anything she would want to wear likely.

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

Well it looked as though Katarine had stumbled upon an adventure. Before she knew it they were in the ship and ready to go. She was playing with her caf with a small stirring straw, her thoughts centuries away it seemed when he asked about clothes. She smiled at the consideration.

"I'm fine. The Jedi sort of take a voluntary vow of poverty, or at least they did when I was one. I can make due with whatever." It was true. Katarine had gotten used to washing her clothes a lot or wearing the same outfit a lot. It just came with the gig, though when she was undercover the wardrobe had increased dramatically.

"Besides I"m not sure if the currency I have is still used. Apparently I'm an old fashioned gal these days." She winked at him but it was true. For all she knew the credits she had were useless.

She watched him, presumably calculating the jump to lightspeed though of course she wasn't sure. She wanted to bring up the events he mentioned that lead to her being here, but she didn't want to bring up painful memories. Finally she took a drink of the caf and forced herself to swallow and took a deep breath.

"So.. you seem perfectly accepting of the fact that you've met a stranger whose over 800 years old. Is this common knowledge in the galaxy these days?"

[member="Holden Tark"]

 

[Holden Tark]

"Well credits haven't changed much, still the trade currency, though some places don't take them. In that case you have to be really good at bartering. Not like credits are FIAT currency."

Well so the former CorSec officer was showing some of his nerdiness in the moment. That was one thing which seemed to be a secret of his. The man was a closet nerd. While he looked like some big oaf, Holden was actually smart, intelligent. He played to it when it helped him out, otherwise it was his wildcard.

Her curiosity finally won out, and the subtle question she asked wasn't lost on the scavenger. Was he seemingly too okay with it, maybe. All he knew was that the galactic event turned everything upside down that he wasn't exactly sure what normal was anymore. Another sip of his coffee bought him some time, but he knew he'd have to answer. Setting his mug on the small table, he leaned forward a bit toward Katarine.

"Normal, not sure honestly. Like I said, some people disappeared, some showed up... Corellia was destroyed in the whole thing. I can't tell you what's normal. For all I know the galaxy I knew is still going somewhere like some parallel universe. I'm not fully sure about the science behind what happened, and not too sure about the supernatural behind it either. It just happened, and like a lot of people, I'm just trying to move on. I don't mean to sound harsh, but the sooner you accept the truth, the sooner you move on."

Actually it did sound a bit harsh, so he frowned slightly.

"I'm sorry, ask whatever you want. I'll answer what I can, but I don't know how much help I'll be."

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]

 

[KitKat]

A parallel universe? Could that explain why she had met Christian on Zeltros and he didn't recognize her and seemed to have completely different origins? If that were true was there already a Katarine in this galaxy? If she were stuck in some other universe could she ever get home?

"I don't mean to sound harsh, but the sooner you accept the truth, the sooner you move on."

Katarine felt her eyes drift over to him and frowned. How could she simply move on after hearing that she was trapped in another universe and she didn't know how to get home to visit any of her friends or...

She felt her throat constrict. She couldn't think about the mercenary. He probably wouldn't even realize she was gone would he? Hadn't the horrible events with the Sith Lord Styx guranteed as much? She felt like she was suffocating as the old hole inside of her seemed to open. She pushed the thoughts away, determined to avoid them and forced more caf down her throat.

He was apologzing but she held up her hands and shook her head. "No I'm sorry. You lost your home. Of course you don't want to talk about this. I think for now I'll just take your word that these strange things happened. Maybe I can find someone who knows the scicne. For now though I better concentrate on figuring out whats going on in this galaxy if I'm going to survive." She tried to smile, but her face was still marred with the sadness over the memories she had surfaced.

"So.... is this galaxy at war? Back home we were fighting the Empire... but that doesn't seem to be happening here."

[member="Holden Tark"]

 

[Holden Tark]

"No I was being an ass with what I said, so I apologize. I can tell you there isn't a way back. Whatever it was that opened the gateway is closed now. What I can tell you about things now is this. The galaxy is always at war. There was a time when the event made everything quiet, but the One Sith have emerged, the Galactic Republic is expanding, the Mandalorians are doing what they do. So many factions all fighting for dominance. I try to stay neutral in all of this. I'll sell to the highest bidder, regardless of alignement. I'm staying out of this war as long as I can, and you might want to as well. You only lose people in war."

Holden was ready for the jump, so he indicated for Katarine to strap herself in and hold onto the caf tightly. He returned to the cockpit, and punched the coordinates into the navcomputer. Once they were set, and the autopilot on, Holden joined Kat again. He had taken the few moments away to get his mind off of everything that was bothering him. They were headed out on an adventure after all. When he came back, there was a datapad containing an abridged version of the history of recent events along with everything that happened in the 850 years or so previous. It was a peace offering.

"This should help you figure things out. Some of the galaxy is still settling after what happened, but for the most part this will tell you everything you need to know. While you're working on this, I'm gonna be digging up what I can on this Emperor's Staff thing you found. Also, I'll be in the armory making sure we have weapons ready. You still handy with a lightsaber?"

There was not telling what they would encounter on this search, and Holden was never unarmed when going into unfamiliar territory. In fact he was rarely ever without a weapon. The man learned the hard way as a CorSec agent what happens when there isn't at least one gun in reach. At least the wound healed well, and synflesh covered the nasty scar which would have been visible along his jawline. Vain? Maybe, but Holden hadn't wanted to see the scar.

"Oh... before I go do my thing, you hungry at all? I don't have much, but can whip up a mean bowl of instanoodles!"

[member="Katarine Ryiah"]