Faction On the Beach of Dreams; Another World [Darkwire & Friends]

[Binary]

The smell of the sea, the feel of sand between your toes. There was a certain relaxation that came from being at the beach, a sense of leaving your worries and the concerns of the real world behind. It was a pleasant fantasy, one which almost everyone subscribed to in some way shape of form.

It was also completely and blatantly untrue.

The beach, like anywhere was about clique and the social hierarchy. If you knew where to look, knew the signs they the truth would be laid out in front of you. It was high-school all over again. You just had to know how to walk and how to talk to fit in with the group you wanted to. Everything was a mask you wore to get where you needed to go.

Well, almost everything.

Between the posers, the socialites and the others there to be seen there were the families, young kids running between the sunbathers to cavort in the water. Sandcastles and picnics. Uncaring of the looks, of the posers. Just having fun.

A smile touched the woman’s lips for a moment as she leaned on a rail watching them. She could remember being one of them herself, begging her parents to take her to the beach so she could swim in the sea. So she could build a castle and wheedle them into buying her an ice cream.

A different life.

Thee HRD turned, delicate fingers wrapping around the stem of a champagne flute, raising it to her lips as she turned away from the view of the beach, stepping back into the pool, her hand reaching out to slap at a beach ball as she let a laugh slip from her lips.

Know how to walk, how to talk and you could fit in anywhere. You could get in anywhere. Letting yourself be dragooned into attending a party in a penthouse wasn’t too hard, and at least the booze was free. If she could actually drink it that was.

Another sip of her drink before she stared down at the empty glass in her hands, a sad look on her face as she padded away from the pool. Water streaming off her legs as she padded towards doors, into the penthouse towards the bar. A hand reaching out to press against the side of the door to steady herself, a small patch left behind. One more to join the collection she’d already strewn around the apartment.

Daiya

 

[Rika]

Tags: Nyra Mazul

Oh my. Oh no. No nono no. Uhhhhh, still... nope.

That was the order of thoughts Jorj had as the woman went from definitely real, to real flirtatious, to potentially about to make him incredibly uncomfortable with a kiss to making him definitely uncomfortable but also very confused as the being shifted to a very large, glistening-in-all-the-wrong-ways, definitely-not-female. The explanation of 'I'm a shapeshifter' nearly went right over Jorj's head. His brain took a few moments to process everything that had just happened. The first thing and the last thing were definitely somehow related though. She was real, and she was a shapeshifter. So... that meant shapeshifters... were real? The only assessment he had of that was that the woman/not-woman had most definitely made physical contact and that was definitely more real than a hologram. And while he had met many droids over the past month or so that could do many things, change shape was not one of them.

He felt like he needed to focus on the realness factor and get away from all of the rest of the confusing uncomfortableness. "Oh," was all he could manage for a moment. "Okay. Well. I did not know that shapeshifters were a thing. That sounds... delightful."

Since moving to Denon, he'd had many a human "pet" his ears. Just because they were soft, didn't mean that they were for public use. But, somehow, the fact that he had literally walked up and poked this person made him a little less self-conscious about it. Plus they hadn't asked to touch them, so that was probably way more polite than Jorj had been so maybe he should just be a little less self-conscious about them. "Yeah, they're real." He lowered his head and his ears flopped down to let the person touch if they wanted.

"It sounds like a dream to be anything. So, wait. Are you a woman or a man or does that not apply in your case? I'm sorry, is that even appropriate? I am not very good with... words."

 

[Daiya]

N O T • E V E R Y T H I N G • I S • A S • I T • S E E M S

Swimming was hard work, as this day was reminding the teen girl treading in the water next to her friend. Both out of breath, wearing the biggest grins they could muster, the girls were pretty satisfied. Daiya could have done this all day, all week if she'd been given a chance. The water was warm now that she was used to it, and the cool air above its surface was refreshing on her face. Any normal exertion like this would have her sweating, but the water washed it all away.

All but her hunger.

She'd felt it growing for a while, but Daiya hadn't recognized it for what it was until a few minutes ago. It was pernicious, the way being hungry snuck up on her. It was an insatiable child, always demanding attention and interrupting important functions, and unwilling to obey commands to be quiet. The last growl from her stomach was so loud, she swore Zenie had heard it.

A giggle came from the other girl. Even against the blue of the water, Daiya knew her flushed cheeks were obvious. "What?"

"I didn't say anything," Zenie pointed out, but her impish smile said otherwise. She gasped as a wave of water washed over her, coming from the direction of her older friend.

"You were thinking it, I could see it," Daiya taunted, ducking as another splash of water came her way. It hit her alongside the face, leaving water streaming down over her eye and cheek. The teen wiped it away, glancing over to see Zenie prepping another wave to cancel out any counter attack. The girl giggled, "Alright, I'm hungry. Let's go back in and bug Tawrro for some lunch creds."

"Told ya," Zenie grinned, dropping her guard in a prime opportunity to get splashed again.

Daiya just offered her stuck-out tongue to her friend, before they both made their way back into shore. She couldn't help but glance up at the vid-screens above and around them, still displaying the illusion of a seaside beach. As she neared the edge of the water, finally able to touch the bottom of the sandy slope again, the girl saw a couple people she recognized along with a couple she didn't.

Cassus was easy to spot, accompanied by a woman who looked enough like him that they had to be related. His mother? The thought was bizarre to her, she had never considered Pool Boy's home life or really anything that he did between their encounters. It made sense, he didn't seem much older than she was, and most kids her age had family to go home to.

The other was harder to recognize, and it wasn't until Daiya remembered another aspect of Cassus that she could place the woman. Aren...something-or-the-other. She'd been at the bar that Daiya and Zenie had snuck out to, the one Cassus had crashed in his dorky mask. Had Aren been the one to get all up in his face about it? The girl couldn't quite recall, the night was a bit of a haze to her. Maybe the man next to Aren had been there too, but if he was Daiya didn't remember it.

The girl shivered as more of her body emerged from the water, folding her arms tightly across her chest. The once-refreshing air now needled her with its chills, making Daiya want to turn right around and submerge back into the water again. But hunger, and the social obligations ahead, denied her the chance. The wet hair plastered to her shoulders and water droplets carving their path towards gravity's source were begging for a way to dry them, but she had left their towels with Tawrro.

Daiya clenched her teeth to keep them from chattering, putting a wan smile on her lips instead.

"Hey Aren!" she said cheerily, quickly clenching her mouth again. Her lips quivered, but she would not admit defeat. The girl eyed Aren's company, a scruffy-looking man she didn't recognize any closer up than before. "Hi, I'm Daiya."

They were joined by Zenie, whose teeth had already lost the battle against the cold. Daiya grimaced at seeing the shivering girl, unsure of what to do until Cassus approached with the woman. Then she knew, stepping behind Zenie to throw her arms protectively around the girl's own. The warmth of her younger friend's body did help the teen feel relaxed enough to loosen her jaw, if she didn't have another reason to keep it taut.

"Cassus," she offered, cold as she felt, giving a nicer expression to the woman beside him. The woman was missing an arm, and limped as she walked, making Daiya hug Zenie a little closer. There was no reason not to be polite to her, at least. "Hello."

Her stomach growled once more, and Daiya felt the shuddering shakes of her friend's quiet chuckle through their close contact. The girl shushed her friend and stomach both, glancing out at the newcomers and their companions. Beyond them, she spotted Brie devouring a cup of ice cream, and lifted an arm to wave her salvager friend over.

"I'm Zenie," the youngest of their mess piped up, then tossed her wet head back up at her warm protector. A giggle accompanied the little heiress' second declaration, "And she's Hungry."

Cassus Akovin Aren D'Shade Rann Thress Brie Jaxx Binary​

 

[Ruby Jaxx]

Ruby quirked a very suspicious brow at the man. What did he mean that crazy bikini would look good on her? Her shoulders hunched even more, unsure what to do with such a compliment. But then he brought up the force.

“Nah, I'm not into that freaky deaky stuff,” she answered.

And she wasn't force-sensitive anyway. She'd seen the Jedi in Silver Space before. They were a weird lot with their tranquil expressions and ratty brown robes. No sir, she was not into it at all. Her darkly lined eyes were drawn to the door as a few raucous people came in dripping wet. The head on the nearest security droid shriveled.

“Yeah,” she said, agreeing that it was time to go. Then her expression brightened slightly when he mentioned food. “Wait, does that mean you're buying?” she called out as she moved to follow. Ruby wasn't one to turn down a free meal.

(Tag: Gray Venasir )

 

[Nyra Mazul]

Rika

Nyra laughed, it was positively hilarious when people with non-malleable forms asked her questions. They almost always got so nervous and self conscious. It was candy to her. “Don’t worry it is perfectly acceptable. My race doesn’t have the strange sexual taboos humans seem to have when it comes to gender and asking questions.”

She pondered his question for a moment, “I’m still a female I assure you. My form can shift into most things though and I can masquerade as male should I need to.”

To emphasise the point she flowed back into a fully female body, enhancing her curves and walking in front of the man. “Whatcha think? I can change if it makes you more comfortable? Truth is this form makes me most comfortable. My species spend so much time not getting noticed...” Stretching her arms up over her head and walking around the man she quirked an eyebrow looking for a bushy tail…

“So what brings you here?”

 

[Brie Jaxx]

Relax, socialize, and enjoy
​

Brie got stuck in her own thoughts for a moment, which was nothing unusual for the salvager girl. Only this time, her inside feelings was more one of tingling excitement! A great anticipation of what the day would have to offer! She wanted to be here and now, not in the past and not in a distant future which she could not foresee, even how much she sometimes wished that she could - especially after the little incident on Parcellus Minor. What she had went through there had been bewildering, to say the least. Caught in something between a dream and artificial reality, it had been hard to make out what exactly it all had meant - if it had meant something! In the days after, she could figure that it was sort of an experience of her past and some kind or alternative past. It had been weird, that much was true!

While letting one after the other spoon of the sweet and cold treat melt in her mouth, she noticed an ensemble of people at one of the other stalls at the beginning of the beach and ventured off her track to explore it. It was a stall that sold what the clerk at the fashion shop had called sunscreen. Apparently, that was something you needed for the beach and the artificial sun that beamed down on the visitors. Otherwise, you could end upp sunburned and all red and itchy your skin. Brie took up a bottle from a stand and brought it forward to the clerk in the stall when it was her turn. Credits and merchandise exchanged owners and Brie left the stall reading the backside ot the bottle while holding what was left of the ice cream. It was supposed to be rubbed in over your body, as protection from the sun. Something her spacesuit would serve perfectly well for. But then again, it would actually have looked a bit silly if she had worn it at a place like this!

She walked out on the beach again, still reading the instructions of the bottle. A waving motion caught her attention from the bottle and she finished the ice cream as she looked up and noticed Daiya waving at her from a group of people that had gathered a stone-throws away from her. With slight hesistant, she approached the group and threw the now empty ice cream cup in a nearby trash bin before she did.

''Hi! So, you finally got your beach, Daiya? At least as close to a real one without being one - I know I like it!'' she said, delighted to see her friend from their night out at Denon and the nanotrip they had went through partially together. Her voice was reserved to the others, Daiya's blone friend, the teenage boy and what looked as his mother and the other slightly older couple that was joining them. Even though it was reserved, she offered them all a friendly smile while adjusting the dark blue bath towel that hang over one of her shoulders.

Cassus Akovin Rann Thress Aren D'Shade

 

[Rann Thress]

B E A C H ​

Tags: Aren D'Shade Daiya Brie Jaxx ​

​

Rann tentatively reached out with his left hand upon being greeted by, who he guessed must be named Daiya.

“Hello. My name’s Rann, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He smiled.

“I imagine I’ll be meeting a bunch of people today. That’ll be….exciting.” He looked back at Aren, hoping to glean something off of her about this person. He generally would have preferred to follow her lead, stay quiet, just be polite and make it through this. He wasn’t really one for crowds or new people. Especially not now. A lot had gone on in his life, and crowds now more than ever were unsettling.

He did, however, put that thought aside. What were the chances Daiya’d try to blow up his other arm? And if they were Aren’s friends, he could feel a little more at ease around them.

“Tell me about yourself, Daiya.”

Aren’s friends were his friends. He trusted her judgement of character and would dive straight in to adopting anyone she called friend into his own friendgroup.

As more people continued to come closer to the three of them, Rann felt a bit like a revolving door of greetings.

“Hi, Rann, Hi I’m Rann. Rann, pleasure.” Trying incredibly hard to not come off as rude. The last thing he’d want is these people to think Aren’s hot date was a bit of a sleemo. Impressions were everything, and of course Aren’s impression of him meant the most. For her, he’d try to be as polite as possible, as kind as possible, as welcoming as possible to her new friends.

 

[Rika]

Tag: Nyra Mazul

Taboos? If this person thought humans had strange taboos about gender and sexuality then they had definitely never met a Leporine. To be fair, Leporine men were barely known in the public eye. For any familiar with the species of near-Humans genetically descended from rabbit-like ancestors, they likely only knew of the females. Outside of the fact that there were just more Leporine females than males at nearly 5-to-1, the females were exceedingly attractive, especially to humans. Males were frequently relegated to mythical status, as they were unseen and unheard until required for procreation. That was the only function they served in Leporine society. As a result, the rest of the galaxy was ignorant of the males; though that ignorance was not their fault.

Jorj had grown up an outcast because of his gender; one lone boy in a town full of girls and women. None of them had known what to do with him, even his own family. And, as Jorj was realizing now that he was out in the galaxy, everyone had their own take on gender and roles and, honestly, it was all a little overwhelming. Not having to care about gender at all like this shapeshifter could? That sounded pretty nice to him. Yet he was still uncomfortable, for his own part.

"Whatever you're comfortable with is fine," he said dismissively. Jorj found himself getting flustered by most interactions. He thought that leaving Parcellus would give him the chance to get away from the oppressiveness he felt among his people and figure out his own identity, but he was far from ready. And all of these new perspectives just served as a distraction. Or was that an excuse? He wasn't drunk enough to ask these questions.

Speaking of, Jorj held up his drinks, one empty, one mostly full. His ears perked up a little, glad to have avoided fondling. Though the person was checking him out quite obviously and Jorj grew a little self-conscious, his shoulders slumping ever-so-slightly. "I was hoping to relax. And relaxing for me involves a hefty number of these." As if needing to demonstrate, he downed his second drink in a well-practiced gulp. "What about you? Are you here to... well, be noticed?"

 

[Ayreon]

Ayreon walked along the beach, the sands shifting beneath his weight with every step. Dressed in a semi-formal suit and tie, he stuck out like a sore thumb among the swimsuit-clad vacationers around him.

His gaze wandered from face to face as if he were looking for someone in particular. Thus distracted, he nearly ran into a beach chair positioned a little too close to the traffic.

“Hey, watch it!”

“Sorry,” the HRD muttered, hardly breaking his stride as he circled around the chair, intent on his search.

He spotted a small gathering of people who seemed to all know each other ahead of him. Pausing at a decent distance away, his vision zoomed in to take in the scene in greater detail without getting up close and personal. Two young girls, wet from the artificial ocean, hugging each other for warmth. Two older teenagers, a blonde girl holding a bottle of sunscreen and a boy supporting a middle-aged woman, who was missing an arm and walked with a limp. A scruffy-looking man and woman standing together, presumably a couple. Certainly an eclectic group, but none of them were the person he was looking for.

Satisfied with his perusal, he resumed his trek across the simulated shoreline. Further on, he caught a glimpse of an obvious Shi’ido shapeshifting into a voluptuous woman for the admiration of a man sporting a pair of floppy ears. He did a double take, seemed to smirk at the sight (or it could have just been a malfunction in his facial muscles), but didn’t stop walking.

At last, he reached a dark-haired woman sitting alone, a drink in her hand and her bare feet digging into the sand. Despite the sunglasses hiding her eyes, he recognized her facial structure.

“Excuse me, are you Chelara DuCote?” he asked, though he had already confirmed her identity. His charisma programming kicked in as he spoke, adding a friendly tone to his voice. “My name is Ayreon, I work for Gildenleaf, Inc. I was told I could find you here, but if you’d rather not be disturbed, I can give you my contact information and we can arrange something for later.”

Daiya Cassus Akovin Brie Jaxx Rann Thress Aren D'Shade Nyra Mazul Rika Chelara "Chel" DuCote

 

[Nyra Mazul]

Rika

Nyra smiled, laughed, and skipped a little as the bunny-man-person answered and then asked questions. “I get noticed as much or as little as I want I assure you.” A smile pursed over her lips as she looked around and narrowed her eyes. She glanced back and forth before looking back at the man as if about to impart a big secret. “The truth is I’m not sure why I’m here,” she whispered.

She hunched her shoulders and leaned closely to his ear, her mouth close enough that the heat of her breath could be felt on his skin. “But. I. Like. To. Have. Fun.”

Shooting erect and pretending she never leaned in for the whisper she continued. “So here I am, surrounded by holographic scenes and holographic people and here you are looking to relax and drinking a copious amount of drinks. So let me ask you, are you feeling adventurous? Do you want to find fun?”

A smile, the devil herselves smile, practically crawled onto her face as she looked the man in the eyes, her own eyes practically glimmering.

 

[Chelara "Chel" DuCote]

Chel was deep in thought watching as a group of people mingled with each other. Was it possible she was actually starting to relax? Was this all there was to life? Corporate trips and climbing the social ladder until something happened that could be constituted as a victory? This was why she hated vacations, she had to think and the last thing she needed was to obsess over her own idiosyncrasies in the context of proper society. Chel took another sip of her drink and mused some more. Maybe she just wasn't cut out for management life.

Who was she kidding, she was practically raised for management life. Although it didn't stop her curiosity and certainly didn't keep her from people watching.

She was gratefully yanked from her thoughts by a man coming up to her. She looked up at the man only to be slightly taken aback as she realized that it wasn't a man but a droid. The slight surprise barely flickered across her face as she then calculatedly appraised him. Expensive and very corporate-looking, looks like her wish for business was to be answered.

"I am she," Chel responded matter-of-factly. It almost shocked her how quickly she could snap into management mode. "Gildenleaf? yes I'm familiar and no I am quite free at the moment," she responded preparing to stand up. Gently she placed her drink on a conveniently nearby table. Taking a moment she removed her sunglasses, preferring to speak with anyone without obstruction.

"What brings you, Ayreon, to a beach resort? I can see you're dressed for the occasion," she joked already uncomfortably aware that he might not get it. "Rather I mean, for what reason am I getting a personal conversation with someone from Gildenleaf?" She followed up as she held her sandals loosely from her fingertips, motioning for the two of them to walk.

Ayreon

 

[Ayreon]

"What brings you, Ayreon, to a beach resort? I can see you're dressed for the occasion.”

“I’m here to speak to you,” he replied, the joke sailing smoothly over his head without even disturbing his neatly combed hair. “And I seem to be not properly dressed at all, actually. There is a great deal of sand in my shoes at the moment.”

Unaffected by the discomfort, the HRD fell into step beside Ms. DuCote as she stood up and started to walk further down the beach.

"Rather I mean, for what reason am I getting a personal conversation with someone from Gildenleaf?"

“I was sent to question you about a certain business deal between CorpSec and Gildenleaf,” he explained. “A deal which, unfortunately, was conducted without the knowledge of Gildenleaf’s upper management.”

Under direct orders from his owners, Ayreon could only reveal certain pieces of information to Ms. DuCote. The deal in question had been highly lucrative for CorpSec—or it would have been, had it been done through the proper channels.

“I’m not sure if you are aware of what’s been happening, given that you are on retreat, but it was recently discovered that a high-ranking employee of Gildenleaf committed fraud, forging documents with fake signatures. The investigation is still underway, but it looks like the whole thing was a coverup for money laundering. The CorpSec employees involved were from your department, Ms. DuCote.”

Before she started panicking or got the wrong idea about why he had tracked her down, he quickly added, “We still aren’t sure whether anyone in CorpSec knowingly participated in the scam, but we are questioning anyone with any connection to the matter, including coworkers who may have seen or heard anything unusual happening at the office within the past month.”

Chelara "Chel" DuCote

 

[Rika]

Tags: Nyra Mazul

That severe "NOPE" feeling Jorj had been faced with before abruptly returned as the person leaned in close and whispered in his ear. He visibly recoiled from the near-contact and shivered when the woman pulled away. Yeah, he was definitely not ready for this. Jorj wasn't sure if he ever would be. Intimacy between him, a male, and anyone else among his people, all females, was solely the function of baby-making. A notion that he abhorred. And despite any efforts he had taken thus far, he just couldn't separate himself from the anxiety that even the simplest interactions with others caused in him.

This was a whole other level of interaction for the Leporine man to be unprepared to handle. Whether she had a bombshell body or jowls and heft to match really didn't make a difference. He would have squirmed under anyone's playful scrutiny. And he was ready to deflect.

"I'm not the adventurous type. I'm the sit-my-fuzzy-bottom-in-a-comfy-chair-and-get-drunk type. Maybe make some pottery. Or fall asleep while fishing. Actually, that sounds great right now. I could use some fishing. There has to be some fish in this big, fake, water thing, right? Even if there isn't, just dipping a line in would be a grand time. Right?"

He subconsciously went to take another gulp of a drink but found them both empty. "But, first. I think I need to find more of these." Jorj was tempted to high-tail it out of there. But his mother's nagging tugged at the back of his mind. The person was a lot for Jorj to handle. But she obviously was just having a good time. And didn't deserve to get ditched. "Care to... join me? I've got a waiver on the house for a few things. I can cover you. If you'd like."

 

[Talohn Atar]

They had stopped on the planet for some repairs, after having run on the negative side of a trandoshan gang, and taken some damage. Talohn came out on top, as he always does. But he felt utterly horrible, as he had scared the Monari, the child he had picked up from a dumpster back when he fought the amalgam. Talohn was loath to spend credits, but he had to make it up to the kid. Knowing she was half kalamari, he figured a beach would be the perfect solution. Not to mention Madlad stared him down until he agreed. The droid had now face to make expressions, but he could still feel it. That gaze of disappointment. Thus, that led to the odd looking family arriving on the beach. A four year old blue furred half cathar in swimshorts and a white shirt, a tall white and orange droid, built more like an assasin droid of sorts than a protocol, flexible enough to do gun kata, likely any technologically inclined person's dream on walking feet, and finally Talohn. A grey skinned cathar with black hair, black and white stripes, and sharp amber eyes. He himself is still in simple shorts, but he's hidden what he picked up from the fight with the amalgam on him just in case. That torn up and rugged old blue lightsaber. It had come in handy more than a few times already.

Talohn looks to the droid, and gestures to the kid, who's already splashing around in the water. "You watch her, I'm gonna browse the holonet, see what food places there are to eat after....and see what tech they've got floating around. This place is a tech marvel, might pick up some new stuff." Madlad nods, clenching their fist as they it speaks in that dark, almost demonic mechanical voice of theirs. "Any who touch the child will die to the taste of salt water on their tastebuds." Talohn shakes his head. "Please do not." Concerningly, Madlad does not respond to that order as it goes to watch over Monari.

With those two having left him in peace, Talohn sits under a nearby umbrella, browsing his holopad to see what's up for purchase on the markets. Some, if they know of the amalgam, may recognize this fellow as the one that fought her, and walked away alive.

Kadora'Tra

 

[Greyden Sulcan]

Belazura
Indoor Visitor Center

Greyden stared out at the crowded beach. It was not very often that he took a break from work, especially at a place like this. Gingerly, Grey placed his barefoot down and onto the sand. He cringed slightly as his toes sank below the surface. Nevertheless, he took another step out and moved further down the beach to the simulated shore ahead.

Even while on the beach, his mind drifted back to work. He thought of his ship at the dock, a new Pakader-class Bulk Freighter. He had yet to move any nefarious cargo with it... but hopefully that would change very soon. He also thought of that little datapad on his co-pilot seat that he recently received, allowing him access to Cryptnet 2.0. It was... an interesting system to say the least. Greyden had looked at it frequently since he got it, looking to find work for himself.

Greyden blinked his eyes and snapped back to reality. Or whatever the "Indoor Visitor Center" was classified as. He was up to the water now, and made the decision to try to forget about work for now and relax.

 

[Gray Venasir]

"I'll get the food somehow, at least," answered Gray. Though he did not know how he would do it. Yet. He had some snacks, as soon as he'd actually buy it from this store, but that would hardly qualify as proper food. And he did not have enough money to buy much more. "Let's just buy this first, then we'll see once we get out there. I'll pitch in for the bikini, if you've found one you like."

Once outside, as far as one could be outside at a fake beach, Gray was actually glad he had helped pay for the bikini. No one deserved to be inside at a place like this. This beach far outshone the real ones on Jarrelak. This one actually didn't look all that fake. The waves were high and roaring, the sand was warm and rough, people were swarming all over. Plus, the trip to this one was free, except for additional expenses like food.

Speaking of food...

"See those shopping stalls over there?" he asked the woman he'd helped buy a bikini. "Security's not so tight here, so if you distract the clerk, I'll snatch some goodies, and we'll eat." While not very nice to the seller, it was only fair, since people like that usually overpriced their wares. So in the end, he would make a profit by the end of the day. Everybody's winning. "Just cause a scene, or flirt with him, or something. I'll get in position."With that, Gray turned around to walk to the side of the food stall. But just before he walked of, he remembered something. "Oh, wait, I don't think I got your name, my partner-in-crime?"

(Tag: Ruby Jaxx )

 

[Cassus Akovin]

​

The pit in his stomach grew a bit when Daiya relayed her curt Cassus to him, and his mind fumbled with ways to respond while his face stoic as the day as it was born failed to relay that inner turmoil over as something as simple as a greeting. The girl offered a greeting to his mother, and when the older woman sensed the hesitancy in her son, she responded for them both.

"Hello, I'm Cassus' mother, Triam Akovin. At your service," She smiled warmly, and instinctually reached out her hand which was missing, before recovering from the social gaffe by nodding politely in their direction.

"He's told me about his adventures with you all, but it feels good to put faces to names." She said looking to the others as they exchanged names and pleasantries.

All the while, Cassus remained awkwardly silent, immaturely clinging to his mother in a rare scene of vulnerability and humility. Stripped of his walls of protection in the form of his mask and grief, Cassus was left with embarrassment and a guilty conscious as he looked upon Zenie. How could she laugh so happily without her father, while he could not feel the same with his mother right beside him? Briefly, his eyes focused back on Daiya and some part of him understood. Zenie had moved on from her grief, and Daiya had taken it for her.

He simply could not imagine moving on. It wasn't in his families nature to accept defeat, and he had inherited every bit of that nature. His mother was titled The Relentless by many across the galaxy, while her son didn't even know the meaning of relent. Storing this information wherever his mind did, the boy was able to break his awkward gaze and look to the rest of the group who made their introductions and re-introductions.

Zenie had said something about hunger, and now found an excuse to extract himself from this awful situation he felt he was in.

"Mom, are you hungry? I can get food for everyone." The boy looked to the rest of the group, hoping for some kind of affirmation to sway his mother.

Aren D'Shade Brie Jaxx Rann Thress

 

[Kadora'Tra]

N O T • E V E R Y T H I N G • I S • A S • I T • S E E M S
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Diviak Manfloon controlled this world, and the Director of Industry would make absolute certain that it would stay that way. He didn't hire Darkwire specifically to remove its Governor and sign its rights away to the Mining Union mogul so it could be squandered by the same group of criminals. Kadora'Tra obviously didn't know about their dealings with her boss specifically per se, but she did know that the DireX was unscrupulous about achieving his objectives by any means necessary, and it was an open secret that for tasks that CorpSec couldn't handle, Bounty Hunters and criminals were used to enforce their vision on others.

In other words, she was connecting the dots about how things worked here on Belazura, a planet she had never visited before. On short notice, she had been relocated from Denon to the 'resort world' of the Authorities as soon an Embassy for Denon was established on Parcellus Minor following the CYBERDRIVE disaster. At first, the Corporate Captain was equally confused and elated to be treated with a vacation off-world as a reward for her faithful service in the past several weeks, until she realized the order was probably actually a punishment for recent gaffes she had been responsible for.

In other words, cats didn't like water, and now she was on a beach baby sitting over a buncha backwards migrants from that swamp fire on free cash vouchers. The whole ordeal was probably some plot by Luminous Sun and funded by Qanatain Xopsaloff to discredit Manfloon, and to side step the whole thing he used his authority to make the vouchers only redeemable at an indoor visitor center to keep them out of the way of his 'development sites'.

She was just caught in the cross fire and expected to handle it with a beach umbrella and two doofus' she called co-workers.

"Kyle, stop making sand castles on Lonnie. This may look like vacation to you two, but we have to keep any eye out." Kadora'Tra snapped at her subordinates. Lonnie hissed something she couldn't quite make out and stood up out of her basking spot in the sand, knocking the sand castle to the ground on to Kadora'Tra's towel.

"Gah, Lonnie! Don't you know how hard it is to keep sand out of my fur?!" The Captain yelled, while Kyle's shoulders slouched at the site of the destroyed castle. Lonnie innocently tried to shrug their shoulders while the Farghul stood to berate her for a minute, loud enough for others nearby to hear her shrill voice.

Talohn Atar @Others

 

[Zo'i Prihm]

Not Everything Is as It Seems

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A pair of disappointed eyes and crossed arms loomed over Zo'i. She should be exhilarated. She was riding in the back of a limo. And not a rented limo like what she would ride in if she was on her way to a dance with a date. A real limo, one that belonged to one of the women sitting across from her with the disappointed eyes and the crossed arms. Even worse, the limo they were flying was going to a beach. The beach was an artificial one, sure, but a beach nonetheless. Ages had passed since the last time the Zeltron teenager had been to a beach and, under other circumstances, Zo'i probably would have been able to go and soak up some rays and play with some other teens but...,

Instead, the young woman sat in the back of the limo receiving a stare-down from her guardian, Rhéala Aleyv, and her guardian's boss, Luminous Sun, one of the most powerful women in the Corporate Authorities, if not the galaxy.

In the past, Zo'i had faced down similar glares with ease. She dismissed them, ignored them, or fought back against whatever criticism brought down upon her head. There had never been a fear of consequences. What was the worst that could happen, after all? A scolding from her parents. At most, her teachers at school could have given her detention or maybe even expulsion if Zo'i's escapades warranted such disciplinary action. But most of the time, her acting out was just seen as the normal mischief of a normal teenager. Even if those expectations had been falsely placed on her by humans who didn't have any experience with Zeltrons, they were probably right. Zo'i was just an ordinary teenager who happened to have extraordinary things happen around her. So what if she acted out? It was all in good fun. Wasn't it?

But this felt different. In the couple of months she had spent with Rhéala, Zo'i had grown, if reluctantly, to respect the woman. And their boss, Lumi, well, she not a person you wanted to disappoint. Zo'i had picked up on the threats Lumi passed down to her subordinates enough times to know that she was serious business. Being wrapped up in a pretty bow did nothing to diminish the DireX's wrath.

More importantly though, was this feeling that both Rhéala and Luminous wanted something from Zo'i. But for the life of her, the girl couldn't figure out what. Rhé had said when they first met that she would teach Zo'i what it meant to be a Zeltron. But Rhé seemed more interested in throwing Zo'i into weird social situations. Their lessons at home were mostly culture and language and psychological drivel that seemed more apt to a research student. The Zeltron felt no closer to her people, and yet she still felt like Rhé was trying to show her something. And then there was Lumi. Zo'i had no idea what the mogul's interests were, but sitting right next to the powerful woman must mean that Lumi wanted something.

All Zo'i knew was that they were unhappy. She had been acting out. She'd been sneaking out of the apartment she shared with her guardian. She'd been stealing from vendors directly associated with Lumi and other Direx Board members. And she'd been getting mixed up with individuals of questionable repute. Zo'i knew why they were unhappy. For maybe the first time ever, the girl felt genuinely bad about her conduct. She didn't like the irritated gazes of the two women. She didn't want them to keep looking at her like that. She just wanted to bury her head in the sand somewhere. But she knew that the beach was going to be just out of reach on this trip. Zo'i was scared.

Finally Lumi took the heat off and turned to the human woman at her right hand. "Are the preparations for our opening ready?"

"Yes, ma'am," Rhé said as Zo'i silently sighed. Glad they had moved from glaring at her to ignoring her.

"Diviak is up to something. He wouldn't open an entertainment center under my jurisdiction without reason. I intend to find out what." Luminous Sun's gaze returned to Zo'i and the girl tensed immediately in response. "And you, my dear, are going to prove your worth."

Zo'i gulped. Lumi didn't have to say anything more. There was a threat there, every word dripped with maliciousness. And that pit in Zo'i's stomach, the one where she had felt fear before, doubled in size.

 

[Talohn Atar]

Hearing the shrill screech, Monari makes her way out of the water. The small blue furred half cathar shakes after leaving the water, sending fur and water flying about around her. Once shes dry enough for her tastes, she walks on over to the source of the scream. Kodora'Tra and her lackeys would be met with a blue furred cat child peering up at them, a wide grin on her face as she points at Kodora. "You're loud." She states simply. Before they can even respond, Madlad catches up. The droid doesn't say anything, but it still stands intimidatingly behind the child. It's not got any weapons out or anything, it's just a naturally scary droid. Did Madlad think it would be wise to pull the child away? Yes. But it was interested to see where this would go.

Talohn had heard the shrill voice, and looks up to see his droid, and his so called adoptive child, standing near a bunch of other kids. He was sure Monari was fine, just trying to make friends. Madlad is what made him nervous. "Ugh...fuck's sake. Guess Holonet will have to wait." The cathar stands up to make his way towards the bunch as well.

Kadora'Tra