Starliner Blues (wide open)

[Ashin Varanin]

Ashin was an inherently reactive person; she knew this. But every now and again, circumstances forced her hand.

Today, for example.

The starliner was one of very few in this disorderly galaxy, a place for the elite to escape the vagaries of exchange rates and war. The vessel shook as her boarding shuttle latched onto a docking port. Ashin emerged onto the starliner's main casino deck, sky-blue lightsabre in hand, and spoke in the dead silence.

"Someone in here has something I need. Please don't resist."

Troops in ancient stormtrooper armor piled through the port and spread out into the starliner. Meanwhile, Ashin set out to find the holocron.

Because what else could it be?

Except, perhaps, for a person. It could very well be a person. Her sources were unclear.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Lights were everywhere; they surrounded her as she stood in the middle of it all. Everyone around her didn’t notice anything, no one noticed the teenager lingering in the middle of the room. A whirlwind of emotions crashed down on her. Spencer covered her eyes; she felt something building up in her chest. She could feel the greed, the anger, frustration, and lust for whatever the individuals were doing. She had taken a wrong turn, had gotten lost on her way back to the Academy. Assuming she would be able to find someone who knew where the hell she was and be able to navigate her back. Of course, she chose the wrong place to walk into.

Standing there, she spread her fingers and looked out towards the fanfare of lights. She had never seen anything like this, besides in books and stories the other Masters would talk about. Even when she had gone looking for Erich, she had never walked into a place like this. Someone was behind her and that someone exerted a frustrated feeling. Looking up, she came face to face with a large man.

“What are ye doing hurr? Ye sapposta be getterin dressed. Common ya brat”

“Ahh what?!”

The man grabbed the small blonde by the arm before she could even remember she could use the force. He dragged her towards a center stage where other girls were already dressed in dancing attire. Looking around, she noticed most of them were twi’leks. Of course, Spencer was nothing of the sort and was curious on why she was being dragged through the backstage. Strong hands threw her into a dressing room and then tossed her a rather skimpy attire.

“Uh wait I don’t think this is going to fit!”

“MAKE IT FIT”

Spencer slipped on the garments as it showed more skin than she had ever shown in her life. The ribbons that flowed from her wrists made her feel like a light bug or something. A red twi’lek peered in through the curtain and smirked.

“Hey something’s happening we need to get out of here.”

Not thinking twice Spencer grabbed anything necessary, especially her necklace that was glowing a soft blue hue for some reason. Shaking the trinket Spencer, slipped out of the back stage. While she moved she placed the warm glowing necklace back around her neck, her finger poked the chipped crystal as she cursed wondering why it was all of a sudden doing this. She ducked behind a few pillars as she took a deep breath. People were scared now and she felt her own heart race.

“What a day…”

 

[Ashin Varanin]

The casino deck was suddenly under siege, not from the stormtroopers who swarmed the liner, but from a battalion of dancing girls, or maybe strippers -- Ashin was a little unsure as to what sort of liner this was. Either way, dancers were a pragmatic and thick-skinned bunch, cosmetics to the contrary, and the majority of the terrified squeals and squalls came from patrons, not the girls themselves.

Her head tilted, just so. There was something...a resonance in the Force...that reminded her of a crystal she had once owned. Her source had told her that she would sense what she was after, once she boarded the liner and caused a little necessary fear. Fear was not unlike light. Either through amplification or nullification, it tended to reveal special things.

Frowning, she closed her eyes and tried to get a better feel for the direction of the sense. Once upon a time she had been excellent at tracking, but some skills went by the wayside.

In favor of others. A low hum rose from her throat, and the frenzy drained away from the casino deck, leaving people listless in a sort of numb, non-panicked fear.

If what she was chasing was a person, there was a very decent chance that the person was Force-sensitive. And a Force-sensitive would be far less vulnerable to her tuning of the currents of the Force. Perhaps said person would adjust their presence to fit, clamping down on fear, but there might just be a moment when the hypothetical Force-wielder stood out above the crowd of suddenly mind-quiet people.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Catching her breath, Spencer was able to calm herself down a bit. It was then she was able to open her mind a bit to feel her surroundings. The emotions of the place died down all she could feel was her own or what she thought were her own. Eyes remained closed as she leaned against the pillar, it was cold and it helped cool her body heat down a bit. Once she as in control of herself she slipped on her real clothing over the lace she was wearing. Fingers pulled at the leather belt that held her lightsabers, while another hand tucked quickly the off white tunic into the belt. Pushing her weight off the pillar Spencer stopped for a moment and gulped.

“Someone…”

Looking around the pillar she tried to pinpoint these feelings. Cursing softy under her breath, she could feel the necklace starting to get hot. Assuming it had to do with whoever was on the hunt for something; she pulled it off her neck and tucked it into her pocket. It was hot and she had to pull at the fabric a bit till her skin got used to it. Whatever it was, it was reacting to the situation. Moving away from the pillar she ducked trying to hide. Spencer crawled across one of the large floors hiding behind chairs and tables. Instead of taking the quick exit, the curious padawan wanted to see who had arrived.

Finding a comfortable place under one of the tables she looked out searching for the person. Unknowing to the blonde, the blue light was growing brighter and brighter in her pocket. It took her a minute to realize and she did her best to hide it.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

There was another party with a vested interest in all of this - a man unknown to the galaxy as a whole and more of an urban legend than a human being. His name wasn't important, but his rank summed up his job quite well; he was a Silencer. The Syndicate had been operating under the galactic radar for four hundred years.

He was it's greatest enforcer.

Today, he was in the business of asset protection. Why was he protecting this asset? You needn't know. Namely cause he didn't know. But orders were orders, and Ayden wasn't wrong.

The man's thickly muscled armor grab ahold of Spencer and yanks her from under the table - but unlike the woman she was searching for, this man was entirely dead to the Force. So far as she could tell, he didn't exist.

"Run.", a baritone rumbles.

 

[Verz Horak]

Verz was on the starliner because a friend invited him. He had been bored, though the dancers were cute enough. However, he felt much less bored when the stormtroopers attacked. He always had his Verpine, and he was gunning down the white armored foes like they were dumb beasts, enemy shots glancing off his beskar armor. He grabbed a fallen soldier's blaster and ammo @and continued firing, laughing as he did so.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

Several things competed for Ashin's attention, all at once.

Thing one. A certain blue radiance that drew the mind as well as the eye. Some kind of Mimban crystal, perhaps, or else some exotic weapon charging up.

Thing two. The girl with the radiance in her pocket, being hauled out from cover by-

Thing three. Force-null man - she was focused on sensing anomalies or gaps, and he was both, a curious blankness in the fabric of the room's fear.

Thing four. Some Mando blasting the crap out of her stormtroopers. Fury rose in her, and she gestured at the casino's bar. Bottles of liquor rose, accelerated, and smashed into each other, spraying Verz Horak's whole area in splashing alcohol.

Ashin closed her fist, and the alcohol caught fire. She turned to Sarge and levelled her finger at him. Her voice carried through the din clearly, somehow. "I have no quarrel with you," she said. "Like I said, I'm here for just one thing."

The finger shifted to point at Spencer. "Her."

 

[Allyson Locke]

You would think someone in tune with the force and emotions would be able to sense people sneaking up on her. That was the opposite of what Spencer was capable of doing. She was more worried about the hot blue light shining from her pocket, before she could react to anything though a strong hand dragged her out from under the table. As she was pulled she hit her head slightly on the corner. Rubbing her head and proceeding to stumble on her feet a bit she shot the man a look as he instructed her to run.

Instead of arguing with him, which probably would have gotten her shot by him she turned on her heels and started to move away from the scene. Though something caught her attention as she heard weapon fire and the clashing of bottles, Spencer’s attention was grabbed by the fire around a man in armor. It seemed her ‘rescue’ squad was in trouble. Still, Spencer really didn’t know until now that she was the target of the woman.

Looking towards the figure that was in the distance, the one that started this whole event she felt a lump grow in her chest. Her head started to pound and the necklace glowed brighter. Something told her to grab it and tie it back around her neck, instinct or something else? Spencer didn’t want to lose the artifact; she had obtained it from the Order when she had joined. The woman clarified her target and Spencer blinked quickly and looked over her shoulder to see if someone else was behind her. Nope, she was the one the woman wanted.

“Me?! Why me?!”

 

[Ashin Varanin]

("For the lulz," said Ashin, while waiting for the boys to post.)

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

"Run.", he snarls, "He's not with me." A motion of his head points towards the man on fire. His attention was focused on the woman with the Stormtroopers, and he took a few steps forward towards her, placing himself between... woman and woman. "Why do you want her?", he asks bluntly.

May as well question things. Hopefully the target actually listened. Spencer needed to make like a tree and get the fuck outta there.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

"Long story. You could say my blood needs a daughter."

Ashin shot a glance at the Mando and the flames. That situation would require some work in a moment.

"Forgive me for being enigmatic."

 

[Verz Horak]

Verz found himself covered in burning alclohol from the bar. He moved out of the radius of the flames, as the oneson his armor died out. He looked and saw what he assumed to be his assailant, a Jedi Padawan and a man in red and black armor. Fury rose in his gut as he pivoted and aimed his Verpine at the duo.

"What the fierfek?"

 

[Allyson Locke]

Blinking quickly Spencer stood there frozen for a moment; she wanted desperately to know why she was needed. It was then when the woman shouted about blood needing a daughter tilted her head in confusion. This wasn’t how you found a daughter; there were so many other factors that went into it all. Shaking her she waved her hands in front of her as she took a couple of steps back. The light still glowing brighter as she nervously laughed.

“I think you have the wrong person, I don’t have a family.”

A hand clasped over the necklace as she tried to hide the light. It was too bright now as she took another step back trying to find an exit. She dipped behind one of the pillars and peeked out from time to time to see the armored man and the Flamando. She wanted to know more, she somewhat regretted having the men here. There was something telling her to find out more. Maybe this woman knew of her real family, maybe this woman was her real family. Either way, Spencer was curious and it was hard to hide with that blue light shining from her chest.

“Your blood needs a daughter…what does that mean?”

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

"Color me curious too." The man pulls a Dathomiri energy bow from a maglock on his back. Faintly, he wondered who this woman was with, which reminded him... "You workin' solo, or you part of the Remnant or somethin'?" Stormie armor definitely implied Imperial Remnant, but he could always be wrong.

Slotting in a plasma arrow, the man's ruddy red visor locks onto Ashin.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

Refreshing. Instead of screams, denial and weapons fire, Ashin was faced with simple questions.

And, of course, a Mando outlier cursing and pointing a gun at the two most interesting people she'd met in a while, at least one of whom was her source's suggested target.

"Forgive me for waxing poetic," she snarled, keeping an eye on that Mando. The instant he fired, he was going to be in a world of hurt. "The simple answer is, I'm here to offer the girl an opportunity. I suppose you can put most of the rest together. You seem to be a smart man."

 

[Allyson Locke]

Talk about a mind screw, Spencer stayed in her hiding spot and looked towards the two arguing. She felt like she was stuck in the middle of something she didn’t want to be in the middle of, but something that should be her choice wasn’t really her choice. The woman said she had an offer, but why the grand entrance, why not just contact her like a normal person? Then there’s this muscle dude trying to ask all these questions about things she knew nothing about. Blinking, she wrapped her arms around her and let the blue light blindly shine.

“What opportunity?!”

Spencer stepped out from behind the pillar; she didn’t look at the woman but towards the man who seemed to have a mission to protect her? Standing behind him slightly she looked glanced between them once more and then back at him.

“And who are you and why are you protecting me? I think you’re protecting me…”

 

[Verz Horak]

"Hey, I just want to know whoset me on fire so I can go back to blasting stormtroopers and get you back later."

He brushed some ash off of his shoulder, as if it was an everyday occurance to be attacked by flame and soldier, andto be talkimg to.someone with a firearm out. Most of it was norml to him, being raised a Mando.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

"So you're here to offer the girl an opportunity eh?" The man smirks beneath his helmet - this would be interesting, to say the least. "What kind of opportunity. And don't avoid the other question; who are you working for?"

The arrow raised just a bit, although it still wasn't quite pointed at her. Every movement was calculated, a slow application of pressure. Smart or not, she was dodging the important bits - at least important to him.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

"Don't be ridiculous. If I look like the sort of person who works for anyone at all, I need to have a talk with my cosmetologist. And mando, I'm the one who set you on fire. You fething deserved it and you know it."

Ashin reoriented on Spencer.

"I was told to come here. I was told there was something important here -- and I'm reasonably certain it's you. You're a Jedi, aren't you. A Padawan. I was one once, and they led me well. They didn't equip me to actually make a difference, but they certainly tried. I'm interested in finding someone who has both the will to do what's right and the power to ignore convention when necessary. I would love to create a universe where chaos like this..." She gestured around. "...isn't necessary. And I think you may be the one to help me do it."

 

[Allyson Locke]

Pondering all of this, she had never been told she was needed before. The only other person she felt needed by was Erich, but even then it was extremely one sided. She pondered the situation moreover, she was a Jedi, but there was so much more she needed to learn from them. Still, the proposition of a world…a galaxy that didn’t need to have violence like this sounded amazing. Stepping forward, she moved between the former Jedi and the muscle man. As she moved closer the blue light started to get brighter and pulsate against her chest.

Stopping half way, Spencer felt a hand rest on her lightsaber.

“Yes, I am a Jedi Padawan…I’ve been there all my life I know nothing more than that.”

Her hand shook as she remained prepared to attack if needed. Questions, so many questions filled her mind as she thought about leaving the Order, thought about what her life would be like following this woman. There was too much going on at once for Spencer to really listen and think about what this woman was asking her.

“Who are you and who sent you here looking for what you wanted…are you a Sith…if you’re not a Jedi…?”