Space Is An Odd Place To Meet

[Aela Talith]

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

Aela stood quietly in the hangar of one of the tradeports within the inner rim. The Rising Tide was currently ferrying half of the Covenant to their new home, so she had been forced to take one of the smaller shuttles to go visit her parents home on Borelais.

Both Mother and Father were starting to get suspicious about why she was spending so much time away from home. They expected her to be out and learning of course, but they also expected her to keep them informed. She had long since removed the tracker from the Rising Tide and she could move about freely, her explanation had been that it had messed with the stealth systems.

She shifted slightly, her feet shuffling.

There was an odd feel to being back in Republic space. So much of her time had been spent I the free territories as of late that it seemed an odd thing to be back here. Of course they were only on the outskirts, but it still seemed rather odd to her.

Aela frowned slightly, then looked to one of the droids that finally shuffled over to her. “Please fill it completely, I still have quite the journey.”

The droid beeped quietly at her in confirmation, then zipped off to retrieve one of the fuel lines. She watched it for a few seconds, wondering how Kaili was doing with her droid experiments. Aela shook her head then wandered into the station proper.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

Magda was hungry and her credits were running thin. Despite having [member="Gabriel Lethe"] about to do heavy lifting and manual labor for a chit, fuel costs were far higher in this region than she had expected. It was eat or get somewhere a little less pricey and... taxy.

Curse this Republic.

The young girl sat at a table in the communal cafeteria, a pile of things sitting before her, a group of station-goers sitting around her, a small hat gaining a respectable collection of credit chits on the stool beside her. They'd been here for about twenty mintues or so and as Magda looked up the nautolon sitting opposite her handed her some sort of small droid.

"Ten credits says the bag is full," said the nautolan.

Magda looked at the small droid ... it looked something like a sad mouse droid but she couldn't really tell. It'd definitely seen better days and likely the bottomless pit of her magical bag was not the worse place it had ever been. She frowned at the smear of grease on the bottom of it. Ugh, that was going to stain.

"Fifteen," she replied.

The nautolan grunted, "12, but only if it doesn't stick out."

"Fine."

She wasn't normally the gambling sort, but to this day her bag had yet to fail her. A marvel of Force Alchemy and Sorcery beyond her own comprehension, she'd received it from her father on her 10th birthday and carried it with her ever since. It was by far one of her most prized possessions if for the fact alone that it carried, without fail, every other prized possession she had. There always seemed to be an empty pocket when she needed one and somehow, despite looking rather full, she always managed to fit what she needed inside.

Magda sized up the droid in her hand and pulled back the top flap of her bag, pushing aside her scarf and a datapad and carefully setting the droid in next to them. At first it appeared she'd be out 12 credits as it didn't quite want to squeeze in, but she shuffled some things about, tugged and pushed a few other items aside, squished a pocket or two, and the bag seemed to open up a whole nother corner that hadn't been there before. The crowd around her began to make noise, tone rising as the droid slowly slid into place and with not a single bolt sticking out.

A cheer rose up from the onlookers as the nautolan, arms crossed, brow creased, expression aggravated with disbelief, begrudgingly tossed the credit chit into her hat.

Smug, Magda placed her hands on her hips, "Who's next?!"

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

There seemed to be clamor of some sort, some would even call it an uproar.

Her eyes shifted as she wandered through the space station. The place was arranged much like a market place would be. There were stalls, vendors, and places to eat, there were even a few weapon sellers, though Aela avoided those like the plague.

On one end of the small “market” was where she spotted the crowd. They seemed to stand in a large circle around something, though Aela couldn't quite see. She was tall for her age, well, she was tall for any woman. Taking after her father Aela stood at nearly six feet, just shy half an inch of doing so. Yet when she wandered towards the crowd she found that many of the aliens in it blocked her few.

Slowly she pushed her way into the crowd.

What she found was odd. A girl with a backpack, a regular backpack, or at leas tit looked like a backpack. She frowned slightly, her eyes narrowing. Aela tried to figure out what the heck was going on.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

"I'll give you 50 if you can fit my boots in that silly bag of yours," a woman who had been seated at the table, watching with a passive curiosity, pipped up. She was clearly a mechanic, judging by her soiled appearance and tool belt.

"Ew," Magda blinked at her, "I'd never get the stink out."

Laughter rippled through the gathered crowd.

"But I bet I can fit your whole tool belt in there. Tools and all."

The woman considered this for a moment then nodded and leaned to remove her belt, "You're on, Magic Magie."

She handed the belt over, nearly flooring the girl with its weight which elicited a good deal of amusement from several onlookers. Magda dropped it onto the table infront of her with a loud clunk and began shifting things around in her bag. Once again, it looked rather full - too full to possibly fit that belt, but as she shuffled her scarf and datapad to one side, a new compartment that strangely had not been there before presented itself. It didn't look nearly big enough to fit the whole belt, but she lifted the heavy thing up and began to feed it in. Like a bulbous serpent slowly shifting into burrow, the belt sunk in, clunking again as it seemed to hit the bottom where it stopped.

The woman lofted a brow, wane smirk showing, "Knew you couldn't fit it in there."

With a frown Magda looked down at the bag, disappointed. It'd never let her down before, but maybe because she'd never actually attempted to push the limits of its occupancy load. She sighed.

"Pay up, kiddo."

Doubt makes the world grow smaller, Magie.

"No no, wait," she held up her hands to stop the people who were beginning to walk away then flipped her hair back over her shoulders and leaned to dig into the bag, "this is the magic bag, people. Like, it's a production - not an event." Biting her lip she found what felt to be the belt sitting against the bottom of the back where there didn't seem to be anymore room, but she grabbed at it and pushed it off to the side, shifting the bulk of the item this way and that until somehow it all squished in. With one finally push the buckle disappeared from view and she lifted her hands, beaming triumphantly, "Ta-da!"

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

Now that was interesting. There was no physical possible way that such a thing should have fit in there, and yet, it did! She wondered for a few moments. Was it some sort of magic tricks? Some sort of odd play? Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at the girl.

Aela tried to recognize her, tried to see if she was some famous street magician or something of the sort.

A frown touched her lips as no such thing was recollected. The girl didn't look at all familiar, and neither did her backpack. Her facial expression had made her seem as thought she had been worried for a few second, but Aela thought that may just have been good acting. Her hand reached up and grasped her chin, an almost comical look for her, but one that had been copied from her father stroking his beard.

She pondered for a moment, trying to think. Logically this was little more than a parlor trick. The backpack probably just had a hole in the bottom of it and the items she put in snaked out the bottom...or something like that. Aela frowned slightly, then let her mind drift out into the more absurd. She knew there were items like this in the force, she had seen one before.

Though that had been a belt.

For once, she wished that Micah was here, he would have known.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

The crowd was beginning to thin again as, much along the same lines as Aela's thought process, several spectators began to speculate on the tricks at work here. Clearly it was a trick, and not a particularly crafty one after watching it multiple times. Magda, looking around, frowned shortly before lifting a hand high.

"For my next trick-and NO, it won't involve stuffing your oddball affects into my bag-I will need a volunteer! A strong volunteer! Who here has the beefy brawn, the physical fortitude, the sauronian strength to lift the Magic Bag of Mystery?"

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

Aela stepped forward with not a hint of hesitation.

She stood at six feet tall and towered over most women, but more importantly she did look rather strong, at least for her thin frame. A smile plastered on her face. Of course what most of these people wouldn't know was that she had a small helper in the form of strength, mainly, the force. Her eyes looked down at the woman, and she spoke with an odd eloquence to her tone.

“I'd like to volunteer.” She received some odd looks, but the confident steps she took towards the girl seemed to quiet down the small murmurs that rose within the crowd.

Whatever the girl had in mind Aela would be more than able to do it, if not using her own strength, then through manipulations of the force.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

Magda looked up to spy the young woman stepping through the crowd and fell strangely silent for a moment, watching her.

Don't fail me now, bag.

"Thank you, Miss! If you'll please step over here - just give me a moment while I adjust the straps." With a few quick snaps she changed the bag straps into a single unified piece, "Observe. There are no straps connected to anything but the bag itself. No machinations on the ground. If you'll please, I would like you to attempt to pick up the bag. I warn you, the contents of my magic bag are quite unfathomable, so please don't strain yourself!"

If one thing was for absolutely certain it was that the only person that had never found the bag to be heavy was Magdalena herself. The Masterwork Alchemy on the bag imbuing her blood into the final seal had seen to that. Gabriel refused to even bother with the bag after pulling a muscle trying to pick it up. Not even her father had been able to carry it. Magda wouldn't call herself a hoarder but ... well, she liked to keep interesting things and she also liked to travel with all her possessions on her.

Just in case.

Needless to say, the bag was full of quite a lot of things. Most of which she'd long forgotten about.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

She raised her eyebrow.

That seemed easy enough. A single large step took her towards the bag, one hand already extended. She looked at the girl for a few moments, then gingerly picked up the odd little straps that seemed so well crafted. She grasped them with one hand, then simply began to lift.

It was as if she was trying to lift an X-wing.

Aela's eyebrows rose and her lips parted slightly in a silent gasp. Her eyes narrowed, and almost immediately she stretched out with the force to see if the girl was holding the bag down through telekinesis. It was an automatic reaction, one that garnered Aela absolutely no results. Her lips thinned, and perplexity reigned on her face.

Another hand joined the first and she began to pull as hard as she could, with her legs, not her back. She made a strained noise, but failed to lift the bag even a fraction of a centimeter.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

This was garnering more attention. Magda stepped back and let it happen. The more Aela strained to pick up the bag the more people drew in out of curiosity.

"Oh dear, it seems the bag is being a bit obstinate isn't it? Would anyone else like to try? Anyone? You Sir," Magda motioned to a large, burly man that was probably some kind of Mechanic ...or very dirty Merc, "would you care to try and lift my bag?"

He might've been dumb. He might've been drunk. Maybe even slightly perturbed at the thought of his masculinity being questioned. Either way he trundled over and made his own attempt. Grunting ensued and Magda watched on as his grimey hands gripped at the bag straps, tugged and heaved, pulled and yanked, but to no avail. Magda called out for another to try, and yet another failed to lift the bad.

She sighed dramatically, "Can no one lift my very heavy bag?"

"Can you?" the same woman from before whose droid currently sat snuggly tucked into said bag lifted a brow at her.

"What do you bet that I can't?"

The woman smirked, "Arright. I'll bet another ten that you can't."

"Does anyone else care to place a bet on this?"

Several did, in fact. When they stopped coming in Magda cleared her throat and approached the mysterious magical bag. The young Lady pushed back her sleeves, flicked a curl from her face, rubbed her hands together and bent to pick up one of the straps. Slowly, ever so slowly, Magda lifted the strap until the slack ran out and the weight of the bag pulled it taught. Pausing for dramatic effect, she eyed those who had already tried but failed the task.

"A-one...."

"....a-two...."

"three."

And just like that she lifted the bag and slung it over her head to let it fall to rest at her hip.

Magda could nearly hear the the jaws hitting the floor.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

Her face scrunched.

It had to be a trick, a way that the girl did it herself, something to do with the force? She wondered, thought, and then pondered some more. Aela tried to think of other similar things she had seen, things that reminded her of this bag.

She really wished Micah was here.

Her brother was slowly becoming an expert with these sorts of things. He had made her hair clip, the bracers she wore, and a whole host of other things that helped in the use of the lightside and did some neat things. She wouldn't put it passed him to eventually make something like this backpack, or something that did similar things.

Her lips thinned suddenly and she got an idea.

It was an odd one to be sure, but it would at least allow her to further push her theory along. Slowly Aela squeezed her way passed the crowd, walking through two older men straight up to the girl who had just put her backpack on.

With a sudden rush, Aela enveloped the girl in a half embrace, then simply attempted to lift her off the ground.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

OOF.

Eyes bugging, Magda gave a yelp as she was suddenly accosted and lifted straight off the ground as easy as a sack of potatoes. Really, she was a petite little thing which had landed her in this situation several times before, usually in the arms of her father or brother. But not in the arms of a stranger! At least...uh, not that she could remember anyway.

Either way, Aela would have no problem lifting Magda and her bag, which further caught the attention of the crowd around her. It didn't actually prove anything other than the fact that now she was holding it, the bag could be lifted.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm Miss, but this is very unprofessional!"

"How did you..." there was that woman before, "she lifted the bag."

"Well of course she lifted the bag because it's in my possession," Magda retorted, "that's the allure of My Magic Bag, it only works for me! Will you put me down, please!"

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

Her theory had been confirmed.

It wasn't any street magic trick, or rather, not anything that she could readily identify. This was the work of the force, or something very close to it. The girl didn't weigh much, and with Aela's strength training that Uncle Cameron had put her through she could lift her quite easily.

That bag however had been different.

She hadn't been able to budge it. That meant either the bag had some sort of magnet in it or it was the force. Slowly Aela took several steps to the right, moving herself and the girl away from their previous spot and completely ignoring everything she said.

Of course this was incredibly rude, perhaps even very unlike Aela, but curiosity had gotten the better of her. She had done something like this before, but only once or twice.

Sometimes you had to take an extra step for knowledge.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

Magda flailed, if not a bit half-heartedly, before giving up with a heavy sigh.

"Well, do what you must to make yourself feel better. It won't change the fact that you can't lift my bag by your own accord."

Under normal circumstances she'd likely fear for her life in this situation, but something about Aela gave her the impression she was not in any danger. At least not where Aela was concerned.

"I'll be collecting those bets!" Magda called back at the table where most of the crowd remained, watching curiously.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

She wandered over towards a small garden patch located on the far side of the place where people had been gathering around the girl.

Aela was one hundred percent sure that no one would have had time to move a magnet or any other sort of device under the bushes here, and as such if that was how the trick worked, it simply wouldn't function. That was of course if it was a trick at all. Slowly, almost gently, she place the girl on the soft patch of ground.

“Alright.” Aela said quietly with a slight huff of exertion. “Sorry about that.”

It now occurred to her that she had been incredibly rude and probably should have asked first. Her cheeks turned incredibly red, but her voice remained calm and still. “Could you please put your backpack on the ground?”

She tried to ask as nicely as possible.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

Being rather keen of mind Magda was certain she knew what this was all about.

Narrowed blue eyes rounded on [member="Aela Talith"] as she set her down, eyeing the young woman momentarily. With a dignified sniff Magda straightened her hair and clothes, cleared her throat then lifted the strap from her shoulder and gently placed it on the ground beside her.

"Ahem...watch as this strong young woman attempts to life the Magic Bag a second time! Will the absence of a metallic base provide any help? Is this just a trick? Gather round, everyone!"

Oh yes, she was going to milk as many credits out of this as possible.

"I will also be collecting bets placed from before!"

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

Aela raised an eyebrow for a moment, but didn't say anything.

She let the people gather around again, humoring the girl and waiting for people to be in place. She was almost certain now that this was indeed a trick of the force, that the bag was an artifact, like her bracers or her hair pin. The force could do some amazing things, things that couldn't really be explained. It wouldn't surprise her if she was told this bag was made to be exactly like that.

Her hand tightened around one of the loops, and slowly she tugged.

Again the massive weight of the bag pushed against her hand, catching tight and not even moving an inch. A strained noise escaped her lips, and she stretched against the weight of the backpack. Again all of the pulling proved rather futile, and she was left with nothing but a small ache in her back.

She let go of the strap and nodded.

Aela was sure now.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

A few others tried their hand once Aela was satisfied with her results. To note: no others in the gathering were capable of lifting the bag no matter where it was set by its owner. When the excitement died down and the personal affects of those stocked in the impossibly-bottomless satchel were returned, the crowd thinned out as people returned to their former occupations.

Magda managed to collect a respectable bounty of credits for the show but as she turned to stow them away in her bag she found [member="Aela Talith"] still standing there.

"Did you...want to try again...?" it occurred to Magda that the woman might perhaps attempt to rob her out of embarrassment and she suddenly missed the presence of her typically harmless but physically more imposing stature of her older brother.