New Beginnings All Around (Midnight)

[Marcello Matteo]

Rothana
2.5 Weeks Following One Sith Invasion of Coruscant

Marcello's body was drenched in sweat...again, but the pain that normally shot through his lower extremeties and into his body was...manageable this time. The Jedi Master had been running for roughly five miles which was not only the longest distance he'd run since Coruscant, but it was also right about where his tolerance would have been before he'd lost the use of his left leg anyways. Slowing to a light jog, Marcello continued for another half mile or so, allowing his one completely organic leg to cool down.

As he came to a stop, the Jedi Master sat on the edge of the indoor track and stretched his right leg. Just over a week and a half ago, he'd arrived on the planet Rothana completely unconscious. His astromech droid had managed to complete the flight sequence flawlessly and briefly explain his condition to a droid that could speak basic to the researchers and doctors from BioTech Industries. For the next several days, Marcello had been in and out of consciousness. He recalled a Bacta Tank immersion or...five.

Returning to full consciousness roughly eight days ago, the Jedi Master had been...briefed on all that had happened. Marcello's first question, of course, had been who told them to do anything. The answer he'd...really not expected. His little droid had apparently indicated that Marcello had plenty of funds to pay for the technology and service - claiming he was related to Naboo royalty. Marcello was related to precisely zero percent of the famous people in the galaxy. At least...they hadn't bothered trying to contact anybody within the Republic. It was entirely possible they had no idea he was a Jedi, anyways. His lightsaber had been left secured in his vessel, amazingly still fully functional.

After he'd finished stretching, Marcello leaned his arms back and gazed up at the skylight. Snow was covering the dome of the structure as it always did. Today was supposed to be his last day, but he had the sneaking suspicion the weather on Rothana had other things in mind. Glacier-blue eyes shifted to the synflesh that covered his prosthetic left leg. Reaching down, he placed a hand on the skin. Marcello wasn't really a hairy person by nature, but the synflesh was currently devoid of any...it would take time to grow and develop.

With the exception of the hairless nature of his prosthetic, Marcello was quite impressed with both the construction and functionality. There was no hissing of hydraulic actuators or whirring of servo motors. It connected to what had remained of his limb with a synthennet neural interface, allowing him to register feeling in his mechanical leg. The tips of his toes were electrostatic, simulating a sense of touch by transmitting data collected by the toes through sensory impulse lines to an embedded interface module located within the new false-knee. There was also a power cell co-located that provided power to the entire unit. Strengthened alloy ligaments gave his leg a toned appearance matching that of his right leg. All in all, solid work.

Coming to his feet, the Jedi Master grabbed his towel and made his way to the locker rooms to shower and change. He was delaying the inevitable report of his canceled departure as long as possible... He'd been removed from his life for longer than he would have liked. Granted, he only really felt bad about not having sent word to [member="Ryan Korr"] or [member="Kiskla Grayson"]. And...having deactivated his locator beacon prior to departing the Coruscant system.

[member="Midnight Rapture"]

 

[Midnight Rapture]

Snow fell from the skies in a light dusting. Each flake found itself lost amongst the snowdrifts of the ground, or if unlucky touched her skin and spent the last few seconds of their frozen life before melting away. Midnight blinked a few times, trying to see past the flurry and to the city. In the distance behind the tall standing buildings, she saw the white clouds turning grey and thick, and so she quickened her pace over the frozen ground to her destination.

Alone, for how long she couldn’t even judge anymore. She had been young, just living a life of drugs and carelessness and crime, trying to forget a past which wouldn’t let go. But then even the recklessness could not hid her pain and she left all to just be alone. And she would still be alone, if not for the necessary maintenance her prosthetics demanded. The years of neglect, war, and smuggling showed on the prosthetics, and she could barely pass them off as her body anymore. One leg, one arm. Half her gut.

Hopefully the Rothanian could fix them quickly, for she did not need any suspicions aroused. Back in the day she had a bounty that would make anyone consider turning her in—and though surely now it was non-existent, she did not want to take any chances that her freedom be taken away from her. Best not to be anywhere for too long. Best not to have anyone in her life either.

Not having a home. Not having any ties whatsoever. It was the only way she knew how to live now.

Entering a backdoor of the domed building, she dusted off her coat and stamped her boots to get rid of the clinging snow. She had no appointments with the amputator surgeon. Mid had gotten his name off a drunk from a neighboring planet and figured she would show up—get fixed (probably holding the surgeon at blaster point considering she had no more credits to pay for it)—and escape. But she was just too exhausted from the hike here, and her leg was starting to act up, some exposed mechanics of the leg were frozen from the outside temperature.

[member="Marcello Matteo"]

 

[Marcello Matteo]

Marcello pulled on a long-sleeved black thermal and grabbed his green duffel bag with his left hand once he'd finished showering and changing. Strands of partially dried blonde hair lightly touched his shoulders as he slung the duffel over his left shoulder and exited the men's locker room. As he'd expected, weather had delayed his departure yet again. The cancelation of his flight plan was a lovely gift to come back to after the shower. No matter...right now all he really wanted was a warm meal. The staff at the BioTech facility were not exactly super talkative...and definitively nerdy. Sure, Marcello had a subtle enjoyment of tinkering with things, but he was more garage mechanic than robotics engineer.

As he entered the main lobby on his way to the dining facility, his glacier-blue gaze fell on the form of [member="Midnight Rapture"]. He had certainly never seen the woman around the facility before, and he was fairly certain that he'd seen them all. A rather quick appraisal of her appearance was enough for Marcello to know that she was, at least, having trouble with her leg. You could say the Jedi Master was sensitive to that sort of thing as of late. The next thing he noticed was that she didn't seem terribly sure of where she was going. That probably only meant it was her first time and she'd not really had an appointment...else someone would. E standing there ready to greet her.

Drawing nearer to the woman, the large Jedi smiled politely. "You look like you could use some help."

 

[Midnight Rapture]

As she saw the lone male start towards her, her body instinctually started to question whether to flight or fight. It had been years since anyone approached her with a true benevolence, probably due to the types she had associated with and planets which brought her temporary homes. But she forced herself to not reach for her blaster, and to stand ground. Put up with the small talk, she told herself, and surely he will lose interest and leave her be.

The male wore no garbs that would indicate he worked there, and so probably wouldn't need to confirm any appointments or reasons she was there. If lucky, he would pass right by.

No such luck, as he approached her and spoke. Well, hopefully luck will get 'round to helping her soon enough and she could be off this frozen hellhole of a planet...though the storm picking up outside seemed to beg to differ even that hope.

His words--help? Perhaps she could have used help ages ago when psycho Sith tore her limb from limb. Or when she tried fruitlessly to save her planet. Now though she was beyond believing in the prospect of 'help'.

"You're wrong," she stated simply, a half scowl crossing her lips as she said it. She hated that the first idea this stranger got when he looked at her that she was somehow helpless. "I'm fine. Don't need help, never did."

She started to walk away, and though her leg drove a pain into the attached nerve endings,she tried her best to ignore it. But as she started to walk, the criticism he had spoke made her stop and continue speaking, even though she should have just left it be and leave. "You're the one who looks helpless, ya know. Not me."

No. He didn't really look helpless, but words and how to express them were not her best of allies.

[member="Marcello Matteo"]

 

[Marcello Matteo]

Marcello arched a curious eyebrow at [member="Midnight Rapture"]'s very snapped response. The large Jedi Master didn't bother commenting and was content to let her walk away. Except she was walking in the same direction he had originally been going, so he wasn't sure what the action was designed to accomplish.

When Midnight stopped and turned to redirect the comment at him, Marcello could only laugh. "Feisty for a cripple. Well..." Casually, Marcello resumed his original pace as his stomach grumbled. If the woman wanted to go it on her own, that was entirely her prerogative. "When you realize you can't get anywhere beyond the main lobby, I hope you don't decide to just go wander around in the building blizzard. Then you'll definitely need help." Producing a key card from his pocket, Marcello walked towards a set of double doors that were roughly fifty meters away.

Glancing back over his shoulder, Marcello winked. "Take care of yourself random-woman-with-a-prosthetic-leg-obviously-in-need-of-service."

 

[Midnight Rapture]

Cripple? It had been awhile since she had interacted with anyone, and therefore it had been awhile since she had this feeling, one that could be best described as pissed off. She was a hothead, and had a bit of a short fuse, and therefore did not think twice in sending a small shock of Force in his direction. Not to harm him, but to hopefully trip him and make him look like the crippled fool who couldn't even walk right.

Hey, it was better than reaching for her blaster and making him a permenant cripple. She figured her anger management was working. Plus she couldn't wait to see him trip and land on his face as she hoped.

[member="Marcello Matteo"]

 

[Marcello Matteo]

The brief yet noticeable building of energy in [member="Midnight Rapture"]'s essence caused Marcello to stop and turn to face her. As the energy rippled through the Force in his direction, the Jedi Master's glacier-blue gaze focused on the intriguing woman with interest. At the same time, he raised his free hand and absorbed the energy into his body, his hand recoiling ever so slightly. "Have I done something to warrant such an action?"

For the first time since his arrival, Marcello allowed his true nature to spill forth into the Force around him whilst in the presence of another sentient being. As his presence filled the space around him, the recently-repaired Jedi Master approached Midnight yet again. "Now, ma'am, you have my attention. Who are you?" While it certainly sounded like a challenge, it was not one. Marcello had learned long ago that to truly understand the quality of a person, you were better off directly questioning the character of their very existence. Midnight's reaction to the large Jedi's actions would certainly dictate how this encounter continued.