Mayferria: Back in the Stacks

[Ashin Varanin]

MAYFERRIA
TALAMASCA NEBULA
UNKNOWN REGIONS
SITH TERRITORY

"I come out here to think sometimes," said the young man. Like her, he leaned on the railing overlooking the edge of the floating monument, and the continent-wide library below. He'd been immensely amorous a moment ago, but the fresh air and the view had stolen that, and Alu was fine with his change in mood. Except for the part where he wasn't telling the truth.

"You come out here to think about...going over the edge."

He shot her a sharp glance that softened into chagrin and sadness. "I think about falling, and flying."

"And that's not part of your tradition?"

A chuckle that seemed forced, or distracted. "Hardly. We're not the Walpurgis temples or the Sionites, targets to be assimilated. We're archivists and navel-gazers, not warriors. Our tradition is, in the grand scheme of things, not terribly impressive. That's likely why all the pillaging was so desultory. No violence. What could we possibly have to offer them?"

"But you were angry regardless."

"I'm always angry," he said, still leaning on the rail, but now he met her eyes again with something hungry in them. "I feel that Dark Side in you." If he'd meant it as a commonality, he had another think coming, but he wasn't totally wrong.

"Only on Taco Tuesday when I'm off Gerrenthum."

He blinked. That had been apropos of nothing on her part. "Sorry?"

"Great place, out near Hoth. Stormtroopers and tacos." Alu pushed away from the rail and headed for the balcony door, putting a sway in her step. "Come on. We've got a tour to finish."

The interior of the floating monolith was a warren of library shelves, like essentially everything else on this continent. A strange planet, Mayferria, but interesting enough. Worth a visit, even if it had taken a couple of weeks to get out here; that was part and parcel of visiting the Unknown Regions, or so she'd been told. Frankly, this was her first trip past the barrier. She meant to make it count.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

Back inside the floating monolith's endless library stacks -- private, numb to sound -- the acolyte/student was getting amorous again. Lack of fresh air, pent-up frustrations, or simply Alu's endless charm. That had to be it. Her battered jumpsuit downright exuded hotness. Fact of the matter was, she didn't much mind his attention, any more than she'd minded when it had slackened on the balcony. If he thought she was going to get cozy in the stacks, though, he needed to be clear on, you know, limits and things. How far she'd go, for one. How private she had to feel, for another. Hence the breathless, occasionally osculatory trip through tunnels of files to a book-bedecked service room that had something to do with repulsorlifts. This place ran itself.

His mind was in one-track mode; waste of a good one. Frankly, that much interest, that much drive, was a little off-putting. Made it hard to enjoy the moment for what little it was. She wound up pushing him away good-naturedly once both their mouths were bruised, and asking for a drink. His eyes lit up, he straightened his rumpled robes, and she settled back in a reading nook to wait. They'd knocked into things, bumping levers and knobs, knocking filing cabinets askew. Whatever his name was, he'd been burning through an awful lot of frustration.

When it took a while for him to resurface, she padded outside to the balcony again, fairly sure he could track her if he had to. In a place like this, finding lost things and lost people had to be a traditional skill. Lekku twisting in the stiff breeze, Alu looked out over the receding cityscape. Being this high up was always a bit of a trip for her. Being this close to a potential death helped her focus, rediscover herself, connect with the Force in her limited and untrained way.

 

[Clone Pilot Oddball]

Oddball walked outside and saw her on the balcony.
"Aye, what are you doing up there? Are you jumping off? Can I help you?"
Oddball ran over to the woman and grabbed her.
"C'mon, step down for a minute, I want to talk."
He led her down.
"Why are you up there? Are you okay?"

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Clone Pilot Oddball"]

Alu experienced the following emotions all at once.

Fury. She didn't much enjoy being grabbed and manhandled away from the balcony.

Amusement. Suicide had been the last thing on her mind; she'd just been enjoying the wind and the view, watching the continent-wide library get fractionally more distant.

Sadness. At a guess, he was reacting this strongly because this place had seen a lot of jumpers. What must it be like to have your life's work circumscribed by a Sith regime?

She struggled against the armored man's grip regardless. "Let go, fether," she snapped. "I'm doing fine. Let go now."

 

[Clone Pilot Oddball]

"Okay, I'll let you go. But why are you up there?"
Oddball sat down and began to meditate.
This lady is a Jedi, she must be training her mind.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Clone Pilot Oddball"]

He'd clearly come here to meditate, or he wouldn't be trying it now -- unless this was an invitation to meditate with him. Alu wasn't much for meditation, but at least he'd let go. She hesitated, then shrugged and sat down cross-legged on the balcony, with her back against the railing. The air was getting thin. "I met a guy," she said, squinting up the floating pyramid's slope at the darkening sky. Her heart rate was beginning to fall again. "One of this place's acolyte-students. He was taking me on a tour, and we came out here. I liked the view, so I came back. He's off getting us something to drink."

She gestured out over the library-city that spanned a continent, its edges ringed with forest. More of the city was coming into view, though the clouds would obscure sight soon. "You've got to admit, it's a nice view. But I guess I can take it from your concern that a lot of people have jumped from here? Lot of stress around here?" Her head tilted. "You work here, or you visiting?"

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Alu'ravenor"] | [member="Clone Pilot Oddball"]

Pent up eagerness and hunger passed her by. She looked up to find a robed lad dashing past her in a hurry. Nothing too exciting so Cerita went back to her book while shaking her head just a little bit - kids these days. The boy couldn't have been more than twenty years old, as green as spring with a jump in his track that suggested a whole lotta catching up to do. Mayferria was a whole other thing, though, the woman wasn't sure how they even managed to make all of this.

Pre-Gulag, that's for sure. Even to this day no nation has come close to creating a thing like this.

A few more moments passed before more figures passed her by. A twi'lek this time with a... stormtrooper? Slow blink. They hadn't noticed her and whatever the romantic pair were doing, it didn't seem to be her concern so she went back to reading.

If the girl started screaming it would be a different situation.

Huh, apparently these folks can manipulate the Force through placing books in precisely the right way. Something about harnessing the energy that permeates everything and guiding it in specific ways for new effects. How curious.

 

[Clone Pilot Oddball]

"Visiting. I drive that V-19 over there."
He pointed to a clearing where his fighter was.
"So you like this man? He been nice to you? You mentioned he was an acolyte. Does that mean he is a Sith?"
I think I want in on the One Sith. Maybe [member="Knight Mullarus"] would accept me. I here is is one of the best in the 'business'.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Clone Pilot Oddball"]

"V-19? Nice ship. Old, but nice. Not like I can talk: mine's an old freighter in the pyramid's hangar out back." With a real big hyperdrive in the hold and a real big refuelling cord, but that was neither here nor there. Alu stood up again, massaging her legs. Her own fault, but there wouldn't be much meditating today. "I've just met him, but he seems nice enough. And no, he's not a Sith. Way he tells it, the Dark Side temples out in the jungle got assimilated into the One Sith, but this place isn't all that dark. Or all that powerful, least not as Sith measure those things." She shrugged. "Was mostly just hoping to learn a few things. Poke around a little. I'm not...well, the best I can do with the Force is wiggle salt shakers on the table. I'm not strong, but who knows. Might be able to change that. How would I know? I've never really trained or meditated or anything serious. Nothing formal, y'know? So -- what brings you here, then?"

 

[Clone Pilot Oddball]

"Just traveling, I'm a rogue. I got lost from my squadron here and decided not to go back. War is not something I signed up for. I mean, I enjoyed killing droids and all, but brutality is not my thing. Hey, want to go for a walk?"
Oddball stood up and gestured to a path down near the clearing.
"I'll show you my ship."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Clone Pilot Oddball"]

"Thanks, but maybe another time." Forested projections studded the lower edges of the floating pyramid, high above the city. It was an affectation reminiscent of Ithorian herdships. She spied the same kind of redundant field projectors down there, to protect the trees from midair collision or anything like that. This balcony was close to the bottom of one side of the pyramid, not far above the platforms with the trees where Oddball had parked. "I would," she added, turning to look at him, "but the guy I'm with, he was just off grabbing a drink for us, and he'll be looking for me." She was almost sure she could sense him in the back of her mind. "So I'd better get back inside, I guess. I wandered a little.

"Look, you seem like a nice guy and all. And I wasn't suicidal or anything. But if I had been, well, thanks for grabbing me. Been a long fething time since anyone thought they were trying to safe my life. Maybe I'll see you around." She stuck out a hand to shake. "Alu'ravenor."

 

[Clone Pilot Oddball]

Oddball returned the shake.
"Oddball, the pleasure is mine. You go one to your friend now, maybe we can fly sometime? As friends. Just hop in and go, no destination required."

 

[Jairus Starvald]

Oh, interesting. The book actually contained a training diagram as an example for the Acolytes. It didn't seem particularly complicated and even had a few little notes scribbled in the corners, further explanation... and apparently the musing that this particular style wasn't necessarily restricted towards books. It could be anything - the scribbles mused on - an item that filled a certain space was all that really mattered. Symbolic perhaps, to guide the energy of the Force in the right directions. Cerita had noticed a long time ago that the Force seemed to be as much about your own perspective on things. What you expected would happen mattered a lot.

All of this made her curious. So she started to rummage around the shelves, finding a few odds and ends here and there. The book resting on her lap she started to rearrange them into a specific order. She tried to hum the hum copied from the notes and then waited.

Nothing.

She frowned, before reading it over again. A suggestion that closing her eyes and just letting her waking mind do the job got her attention.

But before Cerita could put that into execution she suddenly noticed something. Young lad from before, peeking around the corner and... staring at her.

"Uh... hello? Can I help you?" there was a frown on her face.

[member="Alu'ravenor"] | [member="Clone Pilot Oddball"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Clone Pilot Oddball"]

"That's a remarkably frank and open offer. I think I'd like that." She tossed him a two-fingered salute, a parody of the military version, as she backed away. "Might just take you up on it someday. Have a good one, Oddball."

She left the balcony through a door in the pyramid's slanted side. To her surprise, she felt things. A twinge of regret, mainly: regret that she'd already committed to quality time with the nameless acolyte. There was something more honest and less one-track about a simple conversation with the clone. Her life, her career, was about prospecting -- searching for things of value. There was, perhaps, more value in making a friend than frustrating a would-be lover, especially when the one had proven his goodwill and the other had mainly proven his willingness to mess around on the job. But nobody was perfect. Not the acolyte, and certainly not Alu. She had to be patient with herself, and after all, she'd already committed. To several things.

After a minute, she came back outside and held out a slip of flimsiplast. "Oddball? Here's my ship's comm. Give me a call sometime, we'll fly."

 

[Clone Pilot Oddball]

"Thanks, I'll take you up on that. Have a good one. Till next time then?"

 

[Jairus Starvald]

"Hey." the young man appeared from around the corner. For a moment he just stood there awkardly, before straightening out, blowing the strands of hair out of his eyes and strutting over like a little peacock. He was very certain of himself, it seemed. Cerita looked at it with something akin to amusement, before breaking eye contact and going back to reading over the diagram. There was silence in the room for a few more seconds until an even awkwarder cough tried to grab her attention again.

"Yes?" the Alchemist didn't look up.

"Want a drink?"

Now that got her attention, but not for the reason that the young lad might think. She looked up again - apparently rewarding him for his tenacity, before sending it all crumbling down to the ground with a smirk.

"Thought ya already had a dinner plan with the twi'lek gal." Didn't think she had been paying attention, did he.

"Uh... well..."

Yeah.

Cerita snorted, before waving over to the diagram.

"You ain't gonna get lucky this time, lad. Take it from me. Now make yourself useful and show me what the feth this diagram means, because I don't have a clue at the moment." there was a shred of Rave in that voice, a bit of Valik in her gaze and a whole ton of Dissero in her general attitude.

Guy didn't stand a chance. Slumping down he slouched a bit - like a big, defeated baby - to take a look at the book.

[member="Alu'ravenor"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Clone Pilot Oddball"]

Another half-mocking two-fingered salute as she headed back to the door. "Sounds like a plan to me. Have a good one, Oddball."

A twinge of conscience, then. Rare, but perhaps worth a listen on her part. "Something big's going to happen," she said over her shoulder, pausing at the door. "In your shoes, I'd hop in my ship and head out. Make some distance between me and here, just for today."

Then she was gone, slipping through the door and the library stacks behind it, so he wouldn't ask her to explain. She grimaced and kept moving. Through the tiny, quiet connection she'd begun to form with the acolyte, she tracked him down when she couldn't find him at the place he'd left her. She found him canoodling with that one sneering/hot green girl -- Falleen or something. He looked up and gulped. She raised an eyebrow; no quip.

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Alu'ravenor"]

Cerita looked up and noticed Blue again. The look of sheer distress on the acolyte was tasty, that would probably teach him for trying to canoodle with two girls at the same time in the same dang location. She looked down again, scribbling down some of her own notes as a reaction to the few useful things the acolyte had said. Not that there was a lot of useful stuff to be found. The lad had more going on between his legs than between his ears, sadly.

But beggars can't be choosers she supposed.

"Yeah, yeah. You are looking like a wounded puppy. Go talk to her, I got all I needed from ya anyway."

With that said she started rearranging the little objects again. A dice here, small pyramid there, a paperclip. Closed eyes and she started to angle them more.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Cerita Sarova"]

The acolyte stumbled his way through something that had a common ancestor with an apology. Alu patted his cheek and sent him on his way with a mildly suggestive, borderline condescending whisper. He and the bottle vanished into the stacks.

At which point Alu sat down opposite Cerita, massaging her temples. "What've you got going on here?" Whatever it was, it looked more interesting than men at the moment. "I caught the edge of what he was telling you. Same spiel he gave me -- not big on substance. Me, I'm curious about how this place works, what it does -- as an institution, I'm talking. As a culture. You look like you're trying to sort out some of the same.

"One question before I get out of your...hair. What's with the paperclip? You're using it in a symbological array. Symbol of connectivity, or just left over from your notes?"

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Alu'ravenor"]

She didn't get an immediate answer. It wasn't to make a point, but when you were just about to crack something wide open you couldn't really afford talking. She just needed to focus a little, tinsy bit and then everything would become clear. Hopefully. But she did notice something.

"Astute observation." Cerita would note. Alu was using words that did not frame well with the appearance she was wearing. Also in the right ways, so she hadn't been just repeating after the bumbling acolyte who had just left. What the Alchemist had also noted was the fact that the floating pyramid was going up. This was not something that the pyramid experienced often, if the acolyte was to believe.

So a spacer with a wide vocabulary and a pyramid going up. Interesting.

"Happy coincidence, really. Study material, but it turned out to work very well together with the diagram here- wait." Cerita took a wide look at Alu. There was something of the Force there. Weak, undeveloped, but she could feel something forming. Which made her think, before she pulled away the paperclip from the formation.

"Can you... yes, please, hold it just like... that. Yes." with some fiddling Cerita got Alu to hold the paperclip in exactly the right position and angle. Before looking back at the other assortment of objects lying around.

She pushed them a bit here and there, before being seemingly happy with the result. Closing her eyes the green lady started humming. The Force started to move, wax, dance, swim, however you wanted to describe it - it found a medium in that paperclip, a conduit in Alu and a mover in Cerita. Perfect, happy coincedence.

The pencil started floating in the middle of the diagram.