[Private] The One who knocks

[Honest Moe Uilor]

It had been a little over two weeks since she arrived on Kashyyyk and, while her departure from Coruscant --the planet she had called her home for the past twenty-six years-- had not been entirely voluntarily, Nesota couldn’t say she really disliked the forest planet. Nor her new life in the Antarian Rangers, for that matter. The Silver Jedi Order had been very sympathetic to her upon learning how she helped one of their own and, given the subsequent results of her help, the Knight Asaraa Vaashe welcomed her into Silver Rest as a guest of the Order. Without a real purpose, Nesota had spent the first several days on Kashyyyk being completely bewildered over things she always believed to be reserved for only the highest of the Coruscant elite; natural water that wasn’t recycled, clean air that wasn’t filtered, and watching the sunrise from high up in a tree --from which she subsequently fell down, allowing her to also add decent medical care to her list as she was forced to spend the entire day in the Medical Quarters.

For better or worse, that day in the Medical Quarters gave Nesota the time to contemplate on her situation. Despite the hospitality of the Silver Jedi Order and their beautiful forest planet whose name she couldn’t even write, the blonde-haired Coruscanti had to admit that she was lacking a purpose in life; she was basically just a freeloader burdening the Order, without anywhere else to go, and it was starting to bother her. It wasn’t until Asaraa, the young Jedi whom she had come to greatly respect in these past days, came to check up on her that she finally regained some purpose in her life. Sharing her burdens with the Jedi Knight, the woman suggested joining the Silver Jedi Order. Without better alternatives it was an offer Nesota couldn’t deny even if she had wanted to and so, the following day, the Coruscanti sought out the man Asaraa had mentioned; a certain Colonel Valkren Calderon of the Antarian Rangers.

Almost two weeks had passed since then and, while Nesota still hadn’t gotten used to neither the humidity of the forest planet nor its wild variety of differently-sized bugs that came out at night, it felt good to have a purpose again. Her training in the Underworld Police Force of Coruscant and her experience in its Major Crime Unit, along with the recommendation from the Order itself, had been highly beneficial and allowed her to skip most of the training required to join the Anterian Rangers. In fact, she managed to get accepted into the ranks of the Rangers as a Sergeant and, just earlier that morning, the blonde-haired Coruscanti had met with the Squad she was assigned to. That meeting had actually gone rather well, considering she was an outsider who skipped most of her training, and the young Corporal who was to be her deputy even gave her a valuable piece of advice; to seek out a Padawan named Kat Decoria for some off-the-books modifications to her equipment.

And so, with her tablet in hand to provide her with directions, the newly-minted Sergeant Nesota Kynnovan was making her way through the maze that was Silver Rest. As she was walking through the Padawan Quarters, the blonde-haired Coruscanti was grateful for the touch screen tablet which Colonel Calderon had given her as part of her equipment; without it, the task of finding Ki Decoria would have been neigh impossible. When Nesota reached the quarters that were, at least according to her tablet, belonging to the Padawan, she switched off her tablet and put it in the left breast pocket of her navy blue-colored Battle Dress Uniform. Straightening her jacket, the Coruscanti momentarily looked at her reflection in a nearby window to make sure she was looking presentable before knocking. "Miss Decoria?" As she spoke, her Coruscanti-accented voice matched the friendly smile that adorned her soft pink glossed lips. "Are you in?"

[SIZE=8pt][member='Kat Decoria'][/SIZE]
[SIZE=8pt][member='Asaraa Vaashe'] [[Mentioned]][/SIZE]
[SIZE=8pt][member='Valkren Calderon'] [[Mentioned]][/SIZE]

 

[Kat Decoria]

Kat had been an Atarian Ranger long before she had been a Jedi Padawan. She worked on their tech and sometimes provided support in combat when the need was there. Kat was all about tech and never found anything that wasn't something she could fix or improve upon. Ships were especially fun to work on, always something new to figure out, hyperdrives on many of them just needed proper maintenance as some pilots didn't always believe in taking care of their ships. She often loved to have stern words with them. Kat was currently using her free time to look into some new tech she was interested in.

Her telekinesis powers were starting to get pretty good as she used them to often help her out with completing several tasks at a time which saved time. She was getting good with using the Force to make fine adjustments to tech while her hands were doing something else. It was a skill she was proud with, sadly she was still struggling to utilise the Force outside her tech building but she guessed that just came with time. Shorty, her droid companion, was working on some minor fixes that she been given to work on, she always had time to help people out with tech, helped to make some credits on the side to unblock some restrictions on usage and such, allowing other Padawans to stream films and such for free.

Focusing on adjusting a piece of wiring as she was trying to create some tech based armour, she completely missed someone knocking on the door. Shorty started whirling about a visitor was what broke Kat out of her trance, she placed her tools down and stood up. Her hair was a mess and her clothes were slightly greased and oil stained. It was not the appearance for guests but it was the way Kat looked most of the time. She coughed and stood, waving to the stranger. "Hi, can I help?" Kat asked as she looked at the person, curious to what brought them to her.

[member="Nesota Kynnovan"]

 

[Honest Moe Uilor]

As the door to Padawan Decoria’s quarters opened, Nesota’s emerald green eyes were drawn towards a young woman who seemed to be hard at work on a piece of armour. Being used to Coruscant, where it was generally considered unhealthy to disregard an opening door in such a manner, the blonde-haired Coruscanti quickly found herself intrigued by the person she believed to be Padawan Decoria; it was like she wasn’t concerned about her safety at all, as if she blindly trusted that nothing could harm her. It was an unusual sight that softened the smile on Nesota’s face as it turned a little more genuine and, deciding not to interrupt the Padawan, she instead leaned against the doorframe while watching the younger woman.

It wasn’t until the Padawan’s droid started whirling just a second or two later when the bright blonde-haired woman noticed her. As she got up to her feet, Nesota briefly looked over the woman a little more closely and nodded politely when her presence was acknowledged. “Yes, my name is Nesota Kynnovan. I am a new Sergeant in the Antarian Rangers.” While the Coruscanti-accented voice left her lips, Nesota noticed the greased clothes of the woman and couldn’t help but smile; at least some things never changed and, regardless of planet, it was most likely a universal sign that the good engineers had at least a little bit of grease on them somewhere. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Decoria. The Rangers in my squad spoke highly of your technical expertise, and I was wondering if you have time to help me with some modifications.”

Trying her best not to appear dangerous, which was way more counter-intuitive than she had actually ever thought it would be, Nesota slowly pulled the strap of her LK Sweeper Shotgun off her shoulder and presented the Padawan with the weapon. “Could you please help me with this?” Remembering that Knight Vaashe had given her some credits to help her on her way, she presented Kat with one of her more innocent, disarming smiles before adding “I obviously wouldn’t mind to pay you for your time and efforts.” while hoping the price wouldn't exceed her current balance.

[member='Kat Decoria']

 

[Kat Decoria]

It seemed that she was another new member to the Antarian Rangers, it was good to see more females in the Rangers which always felt more like a boys club when she was a member of it. Not that the men weren't welcoming but they were just men at times which was annoying to Kat. Especially when they tried flirting with her, none were her type and often took them awhile to realise what her type was. Kat wiped her slightly stained hand before shaking Nesota's hand. "Nice to meet you Nesota, I'm Kat, Ms Decoria is my mother!" Kat grinned friendly as she took a seat behind her desk.

"Sure the lads mentioned a lot of things. They can get a bit rowdy when drinking but they mean well. Glad to hear that they are sending you to me, means that hitting their heads when they don't take care of their equipment is working." Kat smiled warmly as she took the shotgun and inspected the model. Her own accent was heavy with Echani tones, speaking native Echani was her first language. It was interesting to see someone from the core worlds this far out. Kat stroked the gun gently as she inspected the gun and the level of care that had been given to the weapon.

Gaze looking over on the gun. "What do you want me to do to the gun?" Kat enquired as Shorty whirled around and brought her toolbox to her before beeping annoyed that Kat hadn't introduced him to the new person, Kat sighed as she shook her head. "This is Shorty, my droid. He says hi, anyway. First time is free, in future, be 100 credits per task." Kat stated, she decided when first doing this, offering the first time for free gained her more returning customers and new ones.

[member="Nesota Kynnovan"]

 

[Honest Moe Uilor]

As she listened to the young Padawan and watched how she examined the shotgun, Nesota couldn’t help but to feel amazed at the sharp contrast between Coruscant and the woman in front of her. If her handling of the shotgun was any indication, Kat was indeed a very skilled Engineer; however, this was the first time a service was offered to her for free. On Coruscant, where genuine friendliness was rare and new people were always treated with a certain amount of healthy caution, a free service was virtually unheard of and would be looked upon with distrust.

Needing a moment to regain her posture, the Coruscanti turned her attention to the droid for a moment and presented it with a genuinely friendly smile. “Hello there. It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Shorty!” As she spoke, Nesota’s Coruscanti-accented voice held a friendly tone that matched her smile; even though she still maintained a healthy caution for everything new, it actually became much easier to be genuinely nice ever since she arrived at Silver Rest.

Maybe it was the friendly attitude of the people. Or maybe there was something in the water.

Turning her attention back to Kat, Nesota felt a little more at ease knowing they could talk business; something that wasn’t unexplored territory for her. “I was thinking of replacing the drum cartridge with a smaller magazine.” As she spoke, Nesota pointed at the large drum magazine in the weapon before ejecting it. “It is rather cumbersome, and I don’t need thirty rounds. I would prefer six or eight-round magazines, because it makes spares a lot easier to carry. I looked at the feeding system,” While Kat still held the gun, the Coruscanti traced her finger over the place where the drum magazine had been just moments ago. “and it’s possible. I even think I might be able to carry specialized ammunition, like high-explosive breach rounds.” With a smile, Nesota turned her emerald green eyes towards the Echani in front of her. “However, I do worry that it will unbalance the weapon. Do you think you could modify it so the shotgun will be balanced using lighter magazines?”

Suddenly taking the gun back, Nesota’s smile faded a little bit. “On one condition though. If it really is a free service, I’m buying you lunch today.” As she said those words, voicing her natural healthy distrust of new things, the Coruscanti’s smile returned and she handed the shotgun back to Kat. “That way we’re even. Do we have a deal?”

[member='Kat Decoria']

 

[Kat Decoria]

Deconstructing the shotgun, Kat cleaned the individual sections as she listened to what Nesota wanted for her shotgun going forward. Smirking, she listened as Shorty greeted itself to Nesota in return, though doing it with the colourful language that Shorty loved to use. Kat shook her head and glared at her droid, "Shorty! Be polite to our customer!" Kat growled as she crossed her arms as she stared the droid, the droid bleeped at Kat. "I don't care, I will wipe your memory if you carried this up mister!" Kat warned as the droid whirled sadly and moved around acting more civil and quiet.

"Sorry, Shorty tends to have a few circuits loose, doesn't realise that being friendly and polite is possible." Kat stated to Nesota with Shorty staring Kat down wanting to say something. Looking over the parts, Kat pieced the segments together, Kat used lighter spare parts that she had, grabbing some small semi-automatic quick ejection magazines she slotted the magazine in and held the shotgun. The gun was now somewhat lighter, not massively but enough to feel it. "Do you want a longer stock, medium stock or no stock at all?" Kat asked as she looked at the random ammo she had. "Also is there any particular ammo you want? I could give incendiary, explosive or acid?" Kat asked as she placed the ammo on the table for Nesota to inspect.

Looking at Nesota, Kat raised an eyebrow with a slight blush to her cheeks. It had been a long time since she had gone for a meal. It had been even longer since someone asked her to one who wasn't trying to ask her to a date. Too many guys asked her out, she was tired of telling them no or beating them when they tried to be more forceful. "Thanks, urm, you don't have to. I do this mostly because I enjoy working with tech, only ask for money to buy parts and so that I don't feel scammed by people refusing to give it a try themselves." Kat stated.

[member="Nesota Kynnovan"]

 

[Honest Moe Uilor]

Some things always seemed to remain the same no matter where one went and, as Nesota watched the rather amusing exchange between Kat and her droid, she couldn’t help but grin. It reminded her of Coruscant, where the Guardian-class police droids often had a tendency to pick up on some of the more colourful terms of the Underworld; making for a vocabulary which was subsequently used on the maintenance staff of the 164th Precinct. Good times. As she thought back about Coruscant and the life she’d left behind when she escaped the ecumenopolis though, the grin on Nesota’s face slowly faded. It had been very good times in a very good life, but circumstances beyond her control forced her to leave it in the past along with everything and everyone she ever knew.

If only it would be that easy to stomach.

As she turned her attention back to Kat, who had seemingly just asked her a question, Nesota quickly blinked the absent stare out of her emerald green eyes before she presented the young mechanic with a smile. “What? I’m sorry...” Needing a moment to recollect herself, the Coruscanti turned her attention to the deconstructed shotgun to see what the question had been about. “Oh, the stock. Well, the current stock is good but the length of pull is a little short.” Firearms were one of the things the former police officer actually knew something about in this --at least to her, as someone who had never left Coruscant before-- entirely new Galaxy, and the enthusiasm in her Coruscanti-accented voice proved it as she spoke. Within seconds, Nesota had managed to completely regain her bearings. “Do you think you could possibly add one or two inches to it, so it properly rests into my elbow when I hold it? I would prefer my elbow or shoulder to take the brunt of the kick when I fire it, as opposed to my wrists.” That last comment was a joke, and Nesota’s smile became a little livelier as she turned her attention back to Kat for a moment. “And please don’t worry about ammo. I’m used to high-explosive breach rounds, so those will do. There’s no need to modify the shotgun for additional fancy types of ammo.”

While Nesota knew a thing or two about firearms, mostly from experience by shooting or finding herself on the business end of a weapon --which subsequently also taught her a thing or two about body armour-- she wasn’t overly experienced in asking people out for lunch. Or rather, it was one of the things that seemed to be different from Coruscant, where people rarely declined the offer of free food; most of the times, they’d be halfway down to the cafeteria or the nearest diner before you even finished the question. As she noticed Kat’s blush and listened to her answer however, Nesota began to realize things might be a little different on Kashyyyk and a similar blush also began to colour the pale skin of her face. “Oh, in all honesty I was just being selfish with my invitation, Kat.” The words left her lips on a slightly faster pace, as if it made her nervous to discuss the matter. “I mean, I really don’t know that many people in Silver Rest, and eating alone also gets awkward after a while.” It was true as well; the few people Nesota did know were either all Antarian Rangers whom she worked with, or Asaraa Vaashe, who was too high in the hierarchy of the Silver Jedi Order to casually sit with on a daily basis. “I thought buying you lunch would compensate for your time and service, and would give me the opportunity to make a friend.”

[member='Kat Decoria']

 

[Kat Decoria]

There was a distant look in Nesota as Kat waited on her answer. Seemingly deep in thought, it was a similar look most people gave when they first join the Silver Jedi Order coming from troubled backgrounds. The adjustment was tough on some, Kat knew that very well with the transition being hard on her mother and sister after the war on Eshan. Listening, Kat nodded her head, the stock length was short so she was happy to lengthen it. Grabbing a longer stock, she started to put the gun back together, making sure that the stock was the right length for Nesota as she listened. "Not the elbow, sorry, just if your elbow got the kickback from this gun it would dislocate or shatter. No, you need to let the kickback hit your shoulder."

The rounds were a slightly different issue, while the gun was kinetic, so there was nothing wrong with using a variety of rounds in the same gun. Breaching rounds would not be that effective in most battle situations, at least in Kat's experience. "I will give you some breaching rounds, high explosive rounds and fire rounds. Don't need any modifications for these rounds, the gun is kinetic not a blaster so just insert the bullets and there you go." Kat said as she placed all the pieces back together and cocked the gun to hear the satisfying noise of the pump-action.

Offering it back to Nesota after making the gun safe again, Kat thought about her offer of food. It was hard to resist making new friends, she knew what it was like to feel new and alone in the Order so Kat offered a smile and nodded her head. "Sure, lunch sounds good, got any place in mind? There are a few good restaurants that aren't the SJO cantina." Kat suggested as the cantina was alright but the food wasn't always the best.

[member="Nesota Kynnovan"]