Mockingbird

[Lief]

Several years had passed since the death of Fuz. She had buried him in some jungle upon Vendaxa, grave unmarked; Krius had found the whole thing amusing, acted as though he had done her some favour. His eyes had been laced with madness, and she had known then as she knew now: the man believed he had done the work of a saint the day his grasp tightened around the terrified creature's throat. She could hear it even now, the pop which accompanied the crunch of bones, the soft whimper as life left her sole companion. She had experienced many things up until that day without losing her innocence, felt the death of thousands and more as she hovered over Belkadan under the watchful gaze of Tirdarius. Death was nothing new to a child raised within the Sith Empire; but losing Fuz had solidified what a planets worth of people could not, and so the Galaxy had fallen in around her. Its fragments were unrecognizable, mere splinters of what had been, and whenever she tried to grasp for them her hands came away shredded and slick with blood. She spiraled on in this manner for some time, descending deeper and deeper into the abyssal void of space, clutching at whichever star passed her by to no avail. The heat of them scorched her skin and deeper still, until her very soul felt charred.

Jyn could not recall when the flames were finally quenched; washed up on some shore she awoke in a daze, her insides still crackling over an open fire. Her skin was pale as a sheet, though it felt as though it ought to be blistered and raw. Only her cheeks held a blush, perspiration settled upon her brow despite the cool air which lingered around her. By contrast her throat was dry, so much so that it hurt to swallow and brought about a rough fit of coughs whenever she attempted to breathe too deeply. How long had it been since water had passed her cracked lips? The answer came in the form of a splutter as she emptied herself of the ocean's bounty, salt stinging the back of her throat. All too soon came the throb at her temples and an unquenchable thirst. Dragging herself through the sand, Jyn witnessed the violent sun through breaks in the canopy which shaded her; she limped away from the shore and the temptation of its waters, knowing that they contained only death within. She had never really fought for her life before now, and the realization brought about a brief bout of laughter that sounded foreign to her ears. With naught but the trees for an audience she found no need to stop, and soon she was back upon her knees in the dirty underbrush, clutching at her sides in exasperation while tears singed lines down her cheeks.

She lay there for a while in the fetal position, one hand looped around her knees while the other was buried into her hair. The tears had ceased, leaving her numb and breathless; somewhere in the distance a kroyie cawed, the trees around her rustling their response. She watched as its shadow flew overhead, circling above the jungle toward the sun. "Stop," she rasped, unable to do much more than lie in wait as the creature met its inevitable end. "You're flying too high..." Jyn turned onto her back, one hand lifting up - fingers outstretched towards the naive kroyie. "You're going to burn." Another crazed laugh left her as she rolled back onto her side, face against the dirt. "We're all going to burn." But the creature did not understand her tongue, it circled higher in blissful ignorance of the laughter down below. The sky lit up as fire descended toward the beach. She rose then, dragging herself through the jungle and from the wildfire which had started up behind her. There was no laughter now, only an intense urge to flee. "We're all going to burn" she repeated as the wind picked up around her and propelled her onward. "Up..." it called to her, delicate whispers brushing against her ear, "Up, Jyn." But the girl shook her head. "I can't fly" she said, desperately breaking through branches in her haste. "I can't --" Her foot snagged an exposed root, flinging her back down to the ground. "Then you are already dead." The symphony continued, a tireless cycle of commands for her to rise up, all the while the fire crackled closer.

"Get up!" Jyn flinched. Where there had been trees and sky now lay metal, the glare of the sun replaced by gaudily lit up signs blinking neon and flashing the occasional line of aurebesh. This was all overshadowed by the gruff features of a customs officer, who scowled down at her. "Kids these days" came an under-the-breath comment, before he shooed her away. "This ain't no place for sleeping, get out of here." Rising to her feet, Jyn glanced around and rubbed at her eyes. Her initial confusion did not die down, she could tell that she was on some sort of a Station but there was no recollection in her mind of what she was doing there. She lifted up a hand and rubbed the back of her head, her fingers sticky as she pulled them away. Disorientated she stumbled away from the officer, the lights threatening to split her head in two. There was no satchel at her side, no blaster holstered upon her belt, even the vibroblade was missing from her boot. Without thinking she turned a full circle, before falling back to the ground with a groan. The sign which hung overhead read "Docking Bay 15"; she had been lucky once before, a long time ago, perhaps she could find a way off this hunk of metal. Swallowing back a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach, Jyn made her way to the turbolift and descended down into the hangar in search of a ship.

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Ijaat had more in common with Jyn than either two would know initially, or likely for a long while. He had stumbled from Mandalore after the creation of his armor in an ever-descending spiral of decreasing mental instability. Moments of clarity were still the pervasive norm, but moments of psychotic rage and lashing out in violence at all around him were becoming more and more frequent. Back on some backwater planet, he had killed nearly half a Capitol Defense Force to get at a suspected Vong sympathizer just in case he had known where [member="Reverance"] was. More and more frequently his dreams were haunted by the countenance of that Sith Lord, his smirk as Ijaat lay broken at his feet, and the utter defeat at his hands. Nothing would stop him until he had managed to kill the man. Nothing.

For now though, Ijaat was enjoying a rare moment of silent lucidity, sitting by his ship in hangar 15 of wherever Geoff had piloted them to. Where wasn't entirely important. It was important he had came to himself before he had used the rather vicious looking piece of weaponry in his hands to obliterate the poor customs agent in front of him. Filling out the requisite forms, Ijaat had tossed whatever the monstrous looking gun was into the incinerator to be dismantled to component parts and effectively destroyed as he lounged outside his ship, watching the traffic filter by and considering his next move.

His eyes light on Jyn with a sudden alarm and suspicion. The woman, creature, whatever, was obviously in bad shape. Worse shape than even him, and that was saying quite a bit considering how karked up he was. But she needed help, immediately. Hailing her with an eager wave, trying to put aside the itch for violence, the desire to cause pain and suffering, Ijaat stepped forward. Attired as he was, it may not have been the best move, but he was used to living amongst the mando'ade where a full suit of beskar'gam, a blaster rifle, a pair of de-10's and a further hammer on his back and sword at his hip were not commented on that much. A brief, bright smile was dredged up from within to try and offset it.

"Ho there lass.... Where are you headed to... You look like the wrong end of a mythosaur hit you..."

[member="Snowflake"]

 

[Lief]

During the descent into the hangar her eyes were given brief respite as only red ground-lights existed, soft against her vision. Still her head pounded, and as she peered down at her hands she found her fingers ruddy. The last thing she could recall was leaving Yavin IV after unsuccessfully seeking out the Lost City of the Jedi. It felt like an eternity ago, yet there was nothing between then and now. Frustrated at the loss of her weapons, specifically the mini bolter Siobhan had given her, she tried to mentally retrace her steps to no avail. It was as if she had simply been dropped into this Station unceremoniously.

As the turbo-doors parted the soft hue of light continued, with a floodlight raining down on the central vessel contained within. Her footsteps were haphazard and it took all of her control to remain on her feet. Ahead she saw a customs officer and a man stood before his ship. There was no other craft in this hangar, much to her disdain, and she was just about to turn to leave - as there was no way she could get onboard without their noticing - when the man spoke out to her. He sounded genuinely concerned, which was almost humoring. No one had cared an inch since Siobhan, and she had only really known that woman for a day or two.

Where was she headed? Jyn did not have an answer. Teth had been a big mistake, Aurum a waste of time, Yavin IV fruitless. There was nowhere in the Galaxy for this star-walking vagabond; she didn't even have the droid she had become somewhat attached to, or the little baby fat-monkey which had been slaughtered on Vendaxa. The memory of Fuz struck a nerve and she bit back tears. It still felt so raw, the massacre replaying over in her mind. "Nowhere" she groggily uttered, halting in place with her body half turned from him, "anywhere" she admitted moments later. Not that it mattered, this docking bay was already forsaken to her. Best that she leave now.

[member="Ijaat Akun"]

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Gesturing to the ship hand to move the armored Rally Master trundled past him, his hands coming up as if in a disarming gesture as he approached her slowly. The weapons systems all retracted and showed deactivation where applicable, and he smiled again, reaching out his hand to be shaken. The hand bore heavy signs of callouses, of work with the forge hammer and sword, scars and dirt under the nails even days after he last stepped into the forging room of his ship. It was an honest offer of friendship, and aid, and he couldn't say why in the manda he would have done it at that time at any other point in history. Sometimes the fates move a man to be where he need be.

"Well I'm Ijaat, and i'm traveling about the same way as you are... Would you like to at least come aboard? I'll have my med-droid look over you and we'll get you some food and drink and find out where to take you to?"

Silently he formed that thought in his mind, bridging the connection between him and the ship via Geoff, and commanding the A1 droid in the med-bay to be on standby for a general health exam, and prepping the galley and more that Jyn would need. He even went so far as to vent the stale air in the private rooms he almost never used, prepping the master guest room for an imminent arrival by ordering several Z6 to change sheets, freshen the air and everything else. Whatever this poor and lost creature was, whoever she was, there was a kinship he sensed.

"Don't worry lass, I'm as lost as you, so I won't take you anywhere in particular"

[member="Snowflake"]

 

[Lief]

Jyn stared at the hand for a long moment, a faraway look in her eye. Her head swam, and she reached out for support, her hand grasping at thin air before meeting with his outstretched arm. Breathing in slowly she gave herself a moment before sliding her hand away from him, eyes widening at what she had just done. "I'm sorry, Sir" she rushed to say; she wasn't a touchy-feely kind of person, in fact she had lived a rather solitary life. With her hand drawing back to her side she processed what he had said. Ijaat... That was not a name she was familiar with, although his face was somewhat familiar. Then again she had seen many faces, even if she hadn't interacted with them.

"Jyn" she said, chewing on her lower lip. "I'm Jyn." However the offer had her suspicious and she immediately drew back from him with a light shake of her head. "No, that's okay. I..." Her lips moved soundlessly for a moment, a heavy thumping in her ears before a high pitched ringing swamped her hearing. With a shiver she sank to her knees before him, her already bloodied hand lifting back up against whatever laceration happened to be at the back of her head. Her skin had paled, and it took every ounce of strength for her not to close her eyes and keel over.

[member="Ijaat Akun"]

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Here Ijaat woke to a sense of urgency... The hand... How had he missed the blood? The unsteady gait... A flash of his heads up display issued orders to change from regular health exam to emergency medical treatment and this was voiced out loud too. He bent down, grabbing her shoulder as gently as his strength and reflexes would allow, and held Jyn steady as he did what any trooper would do. A basic field examination, noting her pupils were sluggish, her capillary refill just slow, and in general she was beat up.

There were no noticeably broken bones, the laceration on her head was a concern, and he chewed his lip slowly in concentration as he considered what was the best course of action at this point. She needed medical attention, fast. Fluid resuscitation, monitoring, cardiac work up and more. The information was flooding in to his mind as Geoff piggy-back from his scans and augmented his personal knowledge. It all added up to her needing immediate medical attention.

"Jyn.... I don't think you can walk right now... I'm going to pick you up... Please don't fight me. My doc can fix you up, and when you're well you can go. You have my word."

With that, he moved to pick the young lady up, but hesitated, waiting for her consent.

[member="Snowflake"]

 

[Lief]

The throbbing of her heart resounded through her ears, swift yet steady. Her eyes flickered as she fought to keep them open, her lips moving soundlessly - why couldn't she form the words? The only support which kept her in an upright position was the hand of the man upon her shoulder, and even then she slumped forward against it. She became more and more aware that he was talking, but the only words which made it to her hearing were "don't fight me". Jyn was in no position to do so, even if she had wanted to.

Nodding her head as best she could she finally closed her eyes with a weighty sigh and attempted to recall precisely what had happened. Only there were no memories there to draw upon, everything was black before she awoke on the Station. What was going on?

[member="Ijaat Akun"]

 

[Julius Sedaire]

There was no time lost to Ijaat. Reflexes born of combat and enhanced and honed by science and foul magics whirled into action, and he scooped up the waif of a woman before him, stomping up the corridor with a look that silence any questions from the onlooking security and staff. Had they spoken, he probably would have fired a warning shot to demonstrate his temper. Probably. Or wounded one of them to show he hadn't the time to deal with them. It wasn't likely he would outright kill them.

Walking up into his ship the ramp close with a hiss of pneumatic lifts and Ijaat began running down the hallways, lights flashing to help direct him to the med-bay from his sprawling hangar and labyrinthine like ship. It was still new to him, still technically out on it's first voyage since being christened. The med-bay had been the last piece included, and he only hoped it was enough. The A1 series droid was one of the better med droids on the market, at least that he knew of, and it had Geoff on board to help assist.

Skidding into the medical bay, Ijaat draped Jyn on one of the exam tables and nodded to the droid, which to it and it's makers credit immeadiately went to work. Special care seemed to be paid to the laceration on the back of the head, and after what seemed like hours it bustled over to him. Jyn had a simple cannula running around her nose for oxygen, several bags of fluid and IVs hung, and the monitors on the bed beeped and booped in an oddly calming rhythm, the beat of hear heart he supposed.

"She will live, but she will be very weak for days... She lost a lot of blood and is severely dehydrated by whatever her ordeal was. It is best she stay here, or be transferred to a more definitive care facility. She will need to sleep now, and I will need to convene with your Geoffery to plan for further testing and exams when she is concious. Please excuse me while I do that sir."

Nodding in dismissal, Ijaat strode out to an attached restroom, coming back out in mere minutes without a trace of his armor or undersuit. He wore now instead a simple pair of boots with pants bloused into them and a soft green tunic trimmed in sand-gold colors. Grabbing a chair, he drug it near Jyns bed and sat, one hand touching the bed, the other touching a holo-reader in his hand. His eyes unfocused, almost glazed, as he began to do whatever he did now thanks to his ooglith biot, waiting for her to awaken.

[member="Snowflake"]

 

[Lief]

She did not know how long she had been passed out for.

When she finally took her first conscious breath in what could have been minutes or hours, she was met with the steady beep of machinery and even more artificial lighting which stung her half-open eyes. Groaning ever so slightly, Jyn did her best to take in her surroundings yet she was groggy and still extremely tired. Everything else was silent, save for the monitors.

With a very slight frown she turned her head to one side, making note of a person who was sat there. For a moment she couldn't quite make out who it was, although she could sense a wash of emotions through the Force. Breathing in slowly, all too aware of the tubes and lines monitoring her vitals and aiding her recovery, she tentatively tried to speak. Her voice was low and somewhat raspy, yet still at least slightly audible.

"What happened?" she inquired, "Where am I?"

[member="Ijaat Akun"]

 

[Julius Sedaire]

In answer, Ijaat gestured to the A1 Droid as it rolled in, chattering off a list of medical conditions and injuries, advising a stay of a few days at the least to recuperate, and then bothered to introduce itself, hang a new bag of saline and then trundle out on stiffened leg joints. Ijaat stood then, rolling his shoulders and approaching the bed side with as warm a smile as he could muster, touching the monitor and grinning slightly.

"We took some blood to take for poisoning scans and the like, it's being analyzed now... But you are fine. I am Ijaat, Jyn, I found you in my hangar and you collapsed... I brought you in here to make sure you weren't going to die on me... You won't die now, so if you wish to leave i'll give you some rations and a handful of credits and let you go. But I would prefer you stay here and rest onboard the ship whilst you recover strength. Do you need a drink, any food?"

He cocked his head to the side at her, no obvious things happening, but suddenly seeming as if reading something before his eyes.

"Hmmmmm.. Some interesting markers in your blood as well, we will have to further analyze those.."

[member="Snowflake"]

 

[Lief]

Looking the way he had gestured, Jyn frowned at the droid. Did she have a few days to lie around and do nothing? Honestly, she had no idea whatsoever. Maybe she had somewhere to be, someone to see, although that was highly unlikely. Afterall, who was there waiting in the Galaxy for this particular girl? Not even a monkey anymore!

She was curious as to what exactly had been noted in her blood samples, and tried to sit up and glance at the monitor - as if she had any idea how to read whatever was noted there. "Ijaat..." She bit her lip, before shaking her head. "I'm no doctor, I'll stay put for now, Sir. And I don't think I need anything, but thank you." Glancing away she couldn't help but frown all the more. "Where are my things? -- more to the point, why did you bring me here?" It seemed odd that a total stranger would help out the likes of her. Then again, hadn't Siobhan done the same? That hadn't gone too badly...

[member="Ijaat Akun"]

 

[Julius Sedaire]

"You didn't really come to me with anything but some clothes... My droid removed them and dressed you in a surgical prep garment in case your head laceration needed treatment beyond stitching, which it thankfully did not."

As she sat up, Ijaat's eyes flickered a moment, and the monitor, before her eyes, flashed to mando'a script and numerics as they scrolled by on the screen, making likely next to no sense to Jyn as she read. Stretching back in his chair, tilting it slightly, he smiled to her, his arm patting her shoulder gently as he did, nodding.

"I am glad you decided to stay... I promise, when you are healed, you can go wherever you wish. I will even take you there if need be. I do have a bit of a soft spot for orphans and broken things, after all... I brought you here simply because I wanted to make sure you weren't going to die out there, that is truly all."

[member="Snowflake"]

 

[Lief]

Jyn frowned.

She had no things on her? No blaster or bolter? No satchel? Not even her credits or food? This was frustrating. And her memory wasn't serving to remember at all where she might have put any of her belongings. Perhaps the biggest punch to the gut was the loss of her Je'daii notes, however. Those she would have to find, or else she would risk losing the only real tie she had to the Order in any true capacity.

"I see" she said, glancing away from the screen as it turned to Mando'a before her eyes. Why had he done that? Because no doubt it had been his doing - although she couldn't know for sure. What was being kept from her? Still, the specific language and the alphabet used gave her an insight into who he was. She had seen the language before, and knew it was rarely used outside of the Mandalorian culture. They were quite specific about that.

She knew a handful of words, some of the Je'daii texts had it in places to hide more classified information. Of course, she'd had to find a way to read whatever Master Seren had written. But for the most part Jyn was ignorant to the way of the Mandalorians. The girl all but jumped when he patted her shoulder, still unused to any form of contact. Shying back her eyes widened a little, before she looked from him and instead about the room.

"Very well" she began, with regards to his offer, "but until then what am I to do? And where do you plan on going?" After all, it could take a few days at least before she was on her feet again.

[member="Ijaat Akun"]

 

[Julius Sedaire]

He smiled, not unkindly, but guardedly, his eyes calculating. Since she had come around, there was an intelligence to this woman, to Jyn. And not low cunning and wit like many he was used to from smuggling and business. But a deep, rare knowledge that reminded him almost of someone he had tried his hardest to forget.. Almost like... No... It would not do to go down those memories now. There was someone here, now, in front of him that needed all of his attention if he was to make it out of this with his fleece, so to speak.

"What are you to do? Rest. Read if you want, I have an extensive library, though it's mostly engineering, smithing, and metallurgy if you're science minded. Some old chronicles of the Mandalorian Wars and others of my people's history. I have an extensive training facility, if you're gun or combat oriented... A laboratory if you're more a chemist or the like. If it's relating to a scientific field, I can probably facilitate it's study here. As far as where I plan on going? Well... I don't really have a plan to be perfectly honest. Just been going around researching certain things. I also have a fairly extensive holovid collection, and Geoff, my AI, is quite the student of science, and Corellian HoloNet Dramas, oddly enough.."

[member="Snowflake"]

 

[Lief]

As the room came into focus around her she noted it was a standard medical bay, nothing too large or grand... Just enough for the every day pilot, no doubt serviced by a medi-droid. When she peered back at the man she noted the guarded smile; it did not help to ease her mind. This was still Jyn, after all. He reamed off a whole list of things that she could do to occupy her time, which had her thoughtfully frowning as she pondered the options. Science wasn't really her thing, although metallurgy and smithing was something she had always been interested by. The mention of the Mandalorian Wars and history piqued her interest, though she would hunt those down by herself when she was able.

Then came the mention of a training facility. Oh she most definitely could do with making use of that. The question was, did she trust this complete stranger in such a scenario? "Maybe when I'm back on my feet you can show me around, then we can decide what to do?" The offer was surprising coming from Jyn but at the end of the day what choice did she have? No possessions, no ship, body damaged enough to warrant bed rest... "For now, maybe just a holobook? History or metallurgy sounds fine... Thank you."

[member="Ijaat Akun"]

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Nodding, Ijaat grinned slightly, and again without any visible movement or the like, a droid trundled in carrying a stack of books, most of them titled after various periods of Mandalorian history, though one in particular appeared to be hand written, entitled 'The Iron of the Manda' an appeared to be a treatsie on the properties and capabilities of beskar itself, along with other rare minerals and such. The book was obviously new, but contained a few grease smears here and there across the cover, and even some scorch marks. Ijaat gestured to them as the Z6 droid dropped them on a table next to Jyn and trundled off with a rough salute to Ijaat.

"Of course, books are free of charge here at Hotel Akun. And when you are feeling up to it, a short walk later today was recommended by A1, to make sure your equilibrium and the like is undamaged... For now.. .Enjoy the reading, and I suppose I will leave you be, if you wish it.."

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

This was somewhat strange. Things were happening around her without any indication of how. She could sense the man's Force signature, that was something she needed when working under Tirdarius, and she knew he wasn't potent enough to be a Force user. It was odd, it seemed as though there was a... Void in his presence. No, Jyn did not like that. Which meant it had to be something else, something other than the likes of mechu-deru or technomancy. Mulling over this, she simply picked up one of the books and glanced over the grease-smeared cover. She guessed he was some sort of handyman, not that she expected anything less of a Mandalorian.

"A walk around would be welcome" she offered as she flicked through the first few pages of the book concerning Beskar. "But you don't have to leave unless you have things to see to." After all, this was his ship, she was just a patient in his medical bay.

[member="Ijaat Akun"]

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Ijaat smiled, standing, and the screens around her flicked off as he touched a panel on the wall, though he did not touch any buttons on the panel that were visible to Jyn. Walking around the bed he dropped a railing and smiled at her. Though he was, thanks to his time on Selvaris under the shapers, almost utterly force-dead, he tried his best to be as disarming as possible in this situation, offering his hands out to her as he watched her in the hospital bed.

"Well a short one shouldn't hurt you... You'll want to take it slow though. Sit up, rest a minute, then we walk. Here, take my hands, i'll help, you might get pretty dizzy at first.."

[member="Jyn Sol"]

 

[Lief]

There was definitely something off about this man, but being that Jyn had absolutely zero knowledge concerning the Vong there was no way for her to guess at what. Instead she just continued to be stumped and confused by his signature through the Force. When he lowered the railing she gently turned her body, holding onto the bed for support as her head spun a little. Breathing in she tried to focus on the here and now, reaching out to grasp the man's arm as he offered it out. She hated feeling weak, and accepting help was just the same; however she was at the same time used to the situation. Jyn was not a particularly strong individual, where body and mind were concerned, but she was resilient.

"Thank you" she said, waiting another minute or so before finally lowering herself down from the bed until her feet touched the cold floor. It was a welcome sensation. Clutching the man for support for a moment she tried to find her balance, perhaps it may have been too soon but Jyn wasn't the kind of person to sit around. She enjoyed exploring.

[member="Ijaat Akun"]

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Smiling Ijaat quickly gripped the woman's shoulder on the side opposite from him, straightening and acting almost like a crutch, helping stand her up as much as he could without pulling her off the floor. Taking note of her unease, he nodded as if thinking to himself for a moment and then gestured out the door with his free arm, the barrier hissing open swiftly.

"Maybe we take just a short stroll, show you the guest rooms here and you can pick whichever you want. They're all pretty similar, other than a bit of variance in decoration. And then we can see about getting you to my lounge, where all the books and such are, unless you'd rather see the forge and lab. Short little jaunts with rest in between, how is that to your ears?"

[member="Jyn Sol"]