The Menagerie [SJO Dominion of Amar, Z-28]

[Ugohr Poof]

Objective: Menagerie

"What issa happenin with da Corosian phoenix exhibit?"

"Eggs were stolen and the presumed thief broke the enclosure's safety net. For the phoenix's safety, the section is closed off"

Now the Gungan knew the cold, hard truth about why the Corosian phoenix's cage was not accessible to the general public. Once he made it through all the aviary exhibits, glancing at them for about 20 seconds at a time each, the grim realization was that he was hungry from running around from a zoo exhibit to another, and that he had to stop by the food court, which lied at the end of the aviary exhibits. There were several choices, one for each cuisine; he knew that he had to tread lightly and he had to be very cautious about not eating things that were incompatible with his biochemistry. So, while keeping abreast of new meals being sold by his very own Pizza Hutt, he knew he could eat only one of those from the competition in one go - the same would have held from his own Pizza Hutt, too. Just that he was waiting in line for the pasta restaurant; there were as many as a dozen customers in that line. Mesa would like to sample theirsa lasagna; mesa job pays for all meals and mesa get first dibs on tastin any new recipe dat issa slated for commercial release, he thought, before he actually orders anything.

 

[Allyson Locke]

[SIZE=10pt]The Zoo.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“Yeah of course, Jyoti.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Allyson propped up the passed-out Leah and watched as everything unfolded. Everyone in the area froze pausing so that Jyoti could deal with the situation. The smile that usually lingered on the Corellian’s face faded as she watched everything unfold. This day was supposed to be a vacation day, the one day out of chaos that they could all spend time together acting as if nothing was going on outside of their worlds. Nodding, in response to Jyoti’s plea to keep an eye on Leah, Allyson also made sure she kept an eye on the one person they all assumed was going to be trouble. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Yuroic stormed off and Josh had returned while Jyoti was trying to get Jason. Still, the Corellian had no idea why he would hand off the child to someone who seemed unstable – especially when Jyoti had been someone who had taken care of Jason before. If things had gotten out of hand with Yuroic – Allyson was there as well to handle things with the child while Jyoti and Josh handled the disturbed man. At times Allyson figured she would never understand the ways of the Jedi, but she tried. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]She watched Jyoti and Josh talk, a part of her wanted to step in, but she was busy with the girl who fainted. Remembering the girl, Allyson patted her face softly. “Wake up please.” She continued lightly as tried to fight her attention’s desire to focus on the Echani woman. This was a mess and she could sense Jyoti’s rising emotions – this was something Allyson had never experienced before. With her hands full she couldn’t do much, but hopefully Leah would wake up and Allyson could be of more use especially with hopefully helping with Yuroic. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Finally finding her words, she looked at Josh, “Did he say anything? What’s going on with Yuroic?” What was really going on with him? Why did he have to pick today to spiral out of control?[/SIZE]

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"] [member="Yuroic Xeraic"] [member="Jyoti Nooran"] [member="Leah Winsclav"] [member="Scherezade deWinter"]

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Objective: 1
Wearing: nondescript wide jeans, black t-shirt, combat boots
Wielding: 12 Czerka knives, concealed under her clothes, 5 Glitter Bullets
Tags: [member="Jyoti Nooran"] [member="Allyson Locke"] [member="Samka Derith"] [member="Josh DragonsFlame"] [member="Yuroic Xeraic"] [member="Tanaski Yumi"]
Post: 3


It wasn't working. It wasn't working! Jason was still screaming and crying in her arms, and the fire trick was doing nothing to distract him. Scherezade waved her hand to make it all disappear, trying desperately and frantically to come up with other ideas. She had no idea what you were supposed to do with a panicked child in your arms. Why had Josh given his kid to her?!

The noise from around them was getting louder too, but she wasn't paying it any sort of attention. Jason was still in her hands, she had to think of something, of anything...

She almost jumped as an idea popped into her mind.

"On the fields... Of Naboo..." she started, ripping the lullaby from the memory she had of the night she and Josh had spent on his ship.

But it was too late. The Jedi grandmaster person was talking now, directly to her, and Scherezade was so surprised she immediately stopped singing, looking at the white haired woman with wide eyes. She knew... She knew somewhere in the back of her mind that Josh had said something about trusting her with Jason, but Josh was preoccupied right now, and he'd tasked Scherezade with the care of his child. She couldn't exactly just give it to someone else, not without being told first it was okay, and Jason was still in her hands. He'd gone quiet for a few heartbeats when she started singing, but the moment she stopped his screams and crying started up again and now she had a child to deal with as well as a Jedi Master that she wasn't sure would be okay if she pulled a knife on to tell her to keep away until Josh said it was okay.

The hand that as supporting Jason shifted, moving to protect him as much as she could, while her free hand rose up, ready to form an orb of darkness to warn the Jedi to stay away from them, but Josh showed up a moment before she conjured it, and she shook her hand to make the darkside smoke disappear as soon as it had appeared.

And then Josh was there, making it clear that she would not hurt Jason.

Scherezade nodded, confirming his words. She'd never tried to harm the kid. All she wanted to do was distract him, calm him done. The porg thing had been a genuine accident, one that she had not intended on doing at all, the result of her trying to move faster than she was meant to in her current state. And still her arm were protectively wrapped around Jason, despite the pain in her ear at the sounds he was making.

Only now did she notice almost everyone around them was frozen in time. She blinked, wondering how that had been accomplished, but now was not the time to think about it.

It was only when Josh reached for Jason that she let him go, entrusting him back into his father's care.

Josh tried to smile at her, thanked her for trying.

Scherezade's face fell.

"I'm sorry," she tried to say, but her voice came out broke.

Her gaze moved to the Jedi Master again, to the others who'd been looking at her. She knew those looks. She knew exactly what they meant. It was the same looks she always got at the Confederacy. Like she was walking a very tight line, like she was only being tolerated around because someone told them they had to.

Without a word, Scherezade turned around and started walking. She had to leave. If this was going to be like with the CIS, then there was nothing that would be able to keep her there.

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

Inaya had eagerly jumped into a seat next to Tee-four, positively bouncing with excitement. She turned and waved to [member="Cassius Droma"] before the shuttle door closed, and she watched out the view port as they made their way down to Amar. Glancing sidelong at the droid, Inaya wondered if he would have a good time at the zoo. She’d noticed the way his apprehension seemed to show around her at times, if droids really could be nervous. So, Inaya folded her hands in her lap and made the decision to keep her promise and be on good behavior. The thing about privileges was that they could be easily taken away. This she knew, and Inaya certainly was not going to risk that.

As their new shuttle set down at the Menagerie landing pad, Inaya nearly went flying down the ramp. However, she paused and looked over her shoulder to make sure that she didn’t stray too far from her chaperone.

“Come, come!” She called to Teefour, motioning with a wide swinging motion of her arm. Running over to a sign post, she squinted at the galactic basic words and arrows that pointed the way. Inaya had learned the characters, her vocabulary was growing by each day, but reading was still a struggle at times. This time, however, she had singled out the words ‘petting zoo,’ and skipped down the path where the arrow said to go.

“Porgs!” She called, looking back at the droid. “We get to see them! We get to…”

Inaya’s feet came to a halt.

The petting zoo area was bustling, Amaran workers were scrambling. And now, there was a rather large sign that read:

[PETTING ZOO CLOSED]

Apparently, there had been some commotion earlier. While there were still quite a crowd hovering about in the area, craning their necks to try and see… the animals had already been ushered away by their keepers. Not a porg in sight now.

“We get to… not see them.” Inaya said, deflated.

[[member="Yuroic Xeraic"] | [member="Tanaski Yumi"] | [member="Jyoti Nooran"] | [member="Allyson Locke"] | [member="Samka Derith"] | [member="Asaraa Vaashe"] | [member="Scherezade deWinter"] | [member="Josh DragonsFlame"] -- just to note the exhibit is now closed. Feel free to explore the rest of the Menagerie!]

 

[Eugen Aker]

Even as Josh came to talk her down, Jyoti didn't budge until she watched Scherezade handoff Jason to Josh. Only a few moments before, the girl had looked like she had wanted to get froggy, and she wasn't all that sure what she would have done if Scherezade had tried to attack her.

Fortunately, they would never know as Josh now had Jason. Scherezade started to leave, and Jyoti didn't stop her. Everyone around them was still in stasis, but it was a state she couldn't maintain forever. They needed to move.

"It's time to go," she told everyone as she looked at the Porg enclosure, concentrating on the strewn remains of the dead Porg. All the bits began to gather up in the air into a small ball in front of her. "Josh, keep an eye on the Sith. I won't let her just walk off from this. Allyson, I'll take Leah back. I think it would be best if you checked out Yuroic."

Allyson was laid back and approachable and now had a history with Yuroic from joint missions. Meanwhile, it was tough to even be in the same room as her former apprentice. It was one of the things she hated about having to live under an alias and leave everyone in the dark.

"Once I clean up here, then I'll return the area to normal. You all need to be away from here when that happens. Everyone except Elizah."

She could slip out of the immediate vicinity with no problem, but that still left an awkward conversation with the Zoo staff later.

Ugh, she could kill for some ice cream right about now. Whenever she got back home, she would just dunk her face in a tub of that cold creamy stuff.

[member="Samka Derith"] [member="Scherezade deWinter"] [member="Josh DragonsFlame"] [member="Leah Winsclav"] [member="Allyson Locke"]

 

[Samka Derith]

Objective: Menagirie​

​

​

The Loth-cat on her shoulder licked Samka's ear, causing a shudder from the Ren.

"Someone's made a friend," a young woman wearing a uniform of the Menagerie's animal keepers had approached her, grinning at the sight of the Loth-cat clinging to the young Ren. She was dirty, naturally for one in her profession, with a bob of dark hair beneath a cap.

"Is it... supposed to do this?" Samka questioned the keeper who chuckled in response.

"He prefers adults to children," the keeper explained. "With all the kids around here, he likes to latch onto a grown up."

"I see," Samka tentatively reached up to pat the creature which began to sniff her fingers inquisitively.

"It's sweet to see a budding animal lover," the keeper beamed. "Are you here with friends?"

"I... wouldn't call them friends," Samka said slowly, her gaze passing back to find the other members of their group. She saw Allyson buying a collection of treats, there was a passing curiosity on whether she'd be given any herself. Doubtful. She still wasn't sure of Jyoti's intent granting her leave. Maybe they wouldn't want to treat her too nicely just yet.

It was then the commotion happened.

An enraged burst of Lightning and one dead animal. Children and animals scattered in panic. The Loth-cat on her shoulders clung on tighter while the keeper she had been speaking to shrieked in shock.

"Um. I do not know these people," Samka held up her palms to distance herself from the others. But the keeper didn't seem to hear her protest, she'd frozen solid, mouth agape.

Samka's attention turned, now seeing the entire enclosure somehow frozen in time. It seemed Jyoti had responded to the affair firmly. In spite of the situation, the faintest smile threatened to creep onto her features. It was her first time seeing the Jedi Master in action and she had locked dozens of sentient beings in place with barely an acknowledgement of the power involved. Charlie hadn't just been stuck in a Padawan's hero worship, her Master was indeed powerful. Perhaps more so than Sam had suspected. It made things more difficult yet more exciting. In the event of a future escape, Jyoti would have to be distracted or absent. Or killed first.

As the group began to disperse, Samka wandered her way back over to Jyoti, still keeping a small, childish skip in her steps as she approached the Jedi Master now standing over the woman who had joined them earlier. Things seemed to have affected her badly, she was out cold.

The Ren's head cocked to the side in curiousity, the Loth-cat on her shoulder, spared thanks to the proximity with her collar, did the same movement. "Anything I can do?" Samka questioned.

[member="Jyoti Nooran"] | [member="Scherezade deWinter"] | [member="Allyson Locke"] | [member="Leah Winsclav"] | [member="Josh DragonsFlame"]​

 

[Ugohr Poof]

Objective: Menagerie

"May I take your order?"

"Mesa want una lasagna please"

"Your lasagna"

It felt nice for the Gungan to be served food on a plastic platter out of a window: then again he experienced that stuff over and over when going to Pizza Hutt restaurants. And it was very bare-bones for a lasagna: meat sauce between sheets with no extras beyond the molten cheese at the top. Not that he didn't like it, just that Pizza Hutt's recipe has more ingredients that go inside the layers of durum. And this lasagna was welcome when he was to eat it; other guests looked at the Gungan as though he was a creature available for petting, while he had to finish eating the lasagna. Disen poodoo... mesa not comfortable around them-sa zoo guests; theysa want to pet me hair, he thought, while these guests believed Gungans were semi-sentient at most for some reason. The guest began with his flappy ears, while realizing that his ears were somewhat rough in texture, and Ugohr wanted nothing better than to get that guest to stop, so he began to think of using the mind trick on the unsuspecting guest, in an attempt to get their hands off him.

"Yousa hurten me, get yoursa hands off mesa"

"I am hurting you, I will get my hands off you" the guest answered, while backing away.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Objective 1
Location: Zoo Entrance
Mission: Escort Scherezade out of the zoo safely. Lament over dead porg and lost zoo trip.
Post: 5
Tags: [member="Jyoti Nooran"] - [member="Allyson Locke"] - [member="Scherezade deWinter"] - [member="Yuroic Xeraic"] The Party-Pooping Junkie - [member="Samka Derith"] - [member="Asaraa Vaashe"]

As Josh would take Jason and begin to rock him gently as he tried to calm him down, now that Yuroic wasn't a problem he was already considering the matter of Jason. He could bring him to the souvenir shop maybe? Maybe come back in a bit when he was calmed down and he could show him the porgs if they didn't close the exhibit entirely, could show him those cat things, those wolves, the...

"It's time to go."

Josh stared at Jyoti a moment, and it was there he noticed the sign that had been put up that said the petting zoo was closed, as the animals began to be taken from their exhibits all around the petting zoo. Josh was visually completely crestfallen as his face fell. Jason had been so excited to see the porgs, see the animals... Even he himself admittedly had a soft spot for animals, which added to his disappointment. But he was upset for Jason's plight, and the Jedi let out an exasperated sigh as he would nod his head.

"Yes, Master Nooran."

At the least, Jason was too wound up right now to care much about not getting to see the porgs, though he knew that he'd likely be asking about it and be upset later. He'd need to take him back here later. He had to. It wasn't fair to Jason for him to take him here, to get him all wound up and excited, and have this happen. Some might say that this was a lesson for Jason, but Jason was probably too young to understand. It wasn't fair.

Josh would move to catch up to Scherezade, soon walking beside her, unable to meet her eyes at first. He was not mad at her. He had been at fault to hand Jason to her. He knew she would be the last person to intervene, and that she wouldn't hurt Jason, and that they'd need hands in Jyoti and Allyson if things went south, he thought...

No. He had a hand of fault in this. He knew that Scherezade was unstable. He had put Jason in her arms, regardless of statistics, he had played a part in sending her into panic.

Soon enough, he would clear his throat as he tried to speak, looking toward her. Josh had seen the exchange between Scherezade and Jyoti while he was dealing with Yuroic, and to be honest, while it was chaos, he was... Surprised. He'd thanked her of course for trying to calm Jason down, for trying to bring a porg over even if that didn't work out. For trying to entertain him with her magic even if he was far too wound up to notice. But it was when Jyoti had showed up that had surprised him. Despite knowing she was a Jedi, and Jyoti was Jyoti, the woman who to most of the galaxy was in charge of the Silver Jedi Order at this point... Knowing her power, and having literally just seen her stun everything in an almost time freezing-like matter, she still held Jason tight in her arms and pulled him away, even willing to fight if someone besides Josh had come to take him. He was...

... He was impressed.

And the lullaby she had tried to sing as well. He hadn't realized she'd paid that much attention when he had been singing it to Jason to calm him down via Holovid before. She'd been strung up over a surface, apparently drunk out of her mind. He figured the last thing that she was doing was paying attention. But he appreciated it all the same. He appreciated that she went to those lengths for his son. He would not forget that.

"... No. I'm sorry" He finally responded to what she said before. "I just... You have so many bad memories. So much bad going through your head, so much hurting you... I... I just... I... I..." He began to stutter, trying to contain the fact he was deeply upset but it was written all over his face. "... I just wanted you to have some good memories to take with you for once. Memories that were deeply and truly yours, not ones with... Well, you know.

But I only made things worse. And I am so sorry."

Noting that Jason had calmed down and had promptly fallen asleep after all the commotion, he would take a deep breath.

"But... I saw what you did. I saw you try to cheer him up, try to distract him, try to sing to him. I watched you stand down one of the most powerful Jedi in the Order, who had just basically frozen everyone around them, and while Jyoti is Jyoti, she's okay... You saw a stranger who wanted Jason, and no matter who they were, you were willing to protect him. You... You have no idea how much that means to me, Scherezade. Jason is the single most important part of my life. Knowing you were willing to do that for him, I... I..."

He smiled lightly as he would lean over and wrap an arm around her in a one-armed hug, bringing his head to her shoulder.

"... That was really sweet of you. Thank you."

Scherezade was every bit the person that Josh had firmly believed she was. He knew that more than ever now.

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

Objective: 1
Wearing: nondescript wide jeans, black t-shirt, combat boots
Wielding: 12 Czerka knives, concealed under her clothes, 5 Glitter Bullets
Tags: [member="Jyoti Nooran"] [member="Allyson Locke"] [member="Samka Derith"] [member="Josh DragonsFlame"] [member="Yuroic Xeraic"] [member="Tanaski Yumi"]
Post: 4


She hadn't expected Josh to catch up with her. She gave him a momentary glare, wondering why he was even bothering. This event wasn't about taking care of the broken Sith, he was supposed to be taking care of his kid rather than come chase after her. She'd already had her own plans to go back to her ship and drink herself to unconsciousness, and now he was interesting with that. To make things worse, he wasn't even talking as usual, and she was pretty sure he was avoiding her gaze. Scherezade huffed, figuring this would be the part where he was gathering his balls in order to tell her they were never going to meet each other again. She'd been ready for a moment like that ever since their second meeting, after not having expected for a second meeting to happen at all.

And then he finally started to talk, apologizing. Scherezade blinked but said nothing. Maybe he was apologizing in advance for what he was about to say. But then... memories, stuff. He was apologizing because he thought he was the one who'd made things worse. She blinked again this time in true surprise.

Jason in the meantime had fallen asleep on his father's shoulder, and only now did Scherezade release a breath she hadn't even been aware of that she was holding. Were children supposed to do that? Freak out and then just go to sleep? When along the growing up parts did people lose their ability to do that? It seemed like a much healthier coping mechanism than what most people she knew of were doing. Especially compared to herself. But she wasn't allowed to sleep.

And then Josh was talking again. Had she really stood down one of the most powerful people in the Jedi Order? Was that what it was called? She'd been ready to fling what few Darkside abilities she had at the woman, in order to keep her from snatching the child from Scherezade's arms. She hadn't even been thinking about who the woman was and what she could do at the moment (although she did think about it a few moments before), it hardly seemed to matter.

But for Josh.. There was importance in what she'd done. Jason was the most important thing in his life. As it should be. That was how parents were supposed to feel about their children.

And suddenly his hand was wrapping around her and pulling her close, and this time, there was no momentary freezing on the Sithling's part. She just let him, closing her eyes for a moment.

From the corner of her eye, she caught a reflection of the three of them. Man, sort of woman, child. In that reflection, they looked... They looked like a family.

Scherezade closed her eyes, not wanting to see it. Instead her hand came over Josh's hand, and she just let it rest there, unable to bring words to her mouth.

 

[Tanaski Yumi]

Location: Petting Zoo
Objective: Mengaerie
Pepes: [member="Jyoti Nooran"] [member="Samka Derith"]
Current Action: Post 3 Ice Cream

The whole event was rather confusing, Tana just standing in the middle of it all not really able to process that had just happened, baby's screaming, progs in their disproportional body flying around and seemingly several Sith and Dark side users wandering around. Before he knew it man of the people present where dispersing, deWinter and josh going off somewhere else Yuroic and other going their separate way and Jyoti along with the strange leashed woman. "Wait, she seemed familiar", well to a certain extent, he felt like he had heard someone talk about a woman with the same looks back when working as a hired operative for the First Order.

With everyone going their own ways he decided to follow the Jedi master and her prisoner, going off what Kyrel told him some Knight of Ren came to mind. Wait was she a prisoner of some sort? well that was some way to keep them in check. Giving an internal shurg he decided to follow the duo, probably being the few people present that wouldn't object to his presence, well hopefully, he was unsure if anyone blamed him for starting the whole Yuroic going all lighting. "Hey, umm master Nooran, do you think I can tag along with you for the time being? I am not sure the petting zoo is going to be open for a while after what has transpired today".

 

[Cassius Droma]

Navigating the shuttle had been easy enough, and requesting landing permissions and finding the landing pad were also a breeze. Keeping up with the young girl, however… that could prove to be a challenge. The tall droid had to seriously scrunch up his body in a crouch in order to even get in or out of the shuttle, so Inaya had gotten a good distance on him when she departed. Luckily, though, he had longs as long as her body, and was able to catch up in just a few short strides.

He could see the crowd and sign before Inaya could read it. His auditory sensors registered the disappointment in her voice, and his processors tried to figure out the appropriate response. Compassion. “Don’t fret,” his voice sounded somewhat unsure. Despite being a medical droid, he wasn’t programmed with much bed-side manner. “I’m sure there are other fauna we can look at.” His white-yellow eyes darted over to another sign and instantaneously processed the information on it.

“Looks like there is an aviary. Would you like to go there?” T-4D4 inquired. If his memory banks served him right, humanoid children liked birds… at least, some of them did.

While Inaya tried to figure out where to go, T-4D4 grabbed his communicator and brought it up to his vocabulator. “Come in, Cassius.”

“Go ahead, Tee.”

“Looks like the petting zoo is closed down, including the porg exhibit.”

“Blast.”

“Indeed. We’ll see what else there is to see – but we might be done earlier than expected.”

​

“Alright, sounds good. I’ll let you know when I’m finished here,” Cassius said before they ended the transmission. Sighing, he put his hands on his hips and looked out.

The young Jedi was standing next to the Stardust Melody in the middle of a savanna that stretched until the horizon was walled off by a mountain range. It was late afternoon where he was, so the sun was starting to hang low. A speeder bike sat next to him, ready to ride. It would be a little more discrete than a light freighter blasting across the plains.

A few coordinates had been given to him – sites were the poachers had been spotted. Attaching his datapad to the speeder bike’s console, Cassius hopped on and gunned the engine, shooting off.

[member="Inaya"]

 

[Leah Winsclav]

Leah was slowly beginning to come around, her eyes fluttering as the woman slowly began to regain consciousness. She would feel herself suspended, like she was being held by an invisible force. She would open her eyes and find herself face to face with Jyoti.

“What happened?” She said, raising a hand and sliding it across her face. She must have passed out or became unconscious, that much was clear. However she was not able to stand up or walk, perhaps she did not want to either. The noble was overcome with a severe wave of nausea, she was sure that standing up would cause her to vomit something fierce. However the force seemed to be holding her up well. She could tell something has gone wrong and decided to ask immediately, she couldn’t go around not knowing.

“Say Dear, what on Earth has just happened, I feel
Like we’re under attack with all this ruckus. What’s going on? Why did I pass out?”

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

Head still hanging down in disappointment, Inaya nodded to T-4D4. If she couldn’t see porgs, maybe it would be nice to see some other kinds of birds. As she looked back towards the signpost, Inaya looked for the arrow that pointed to the Aviary. Noting the way, she glanced over at Tee-four and tried to smile. Inaya’s gaze drifted off, following a lady and a small boy, he had a stuffed porg wrapped tightly in his arms. Looking towards the nearby gift shop next, she saw a window display that was full of them.

She figured that seeing fake porgs was better than none at all.

Starting off towards the Aviary, her steps were considerably slower than before, mopey even. Inaya looked at the display of exotic plants that lined their walk, without really taking any of it in. The calls of several birds could be heard nearby; the sound did call to Inaya’s curiosity.

“What… is this bird?” She asked, pointing to the Kiros Bird display.

The small birds had colorful feathers and fluttered around in a pleasant way. The crowd seemed to be amused by them. Stepping closer to their caged-off area, she peered in to get a better look. They were not porgs. But, their cheerful sounds did wonders to lift Inaya’s spirits.

“This one very cute,” She said with a nod, looking up to see if Tee-four agreed.

[member="Cassius Droma"]

 

[Cassius Droma]

​

As T-4D4 followed his charge along the route to the Aviary, he noticed that the younger humanoid’s gait had changed. The steps were slower and closer together – the head was held in a lower position. This indicated a lessened mood. If the droid were to put it into terms that he could understand, he would say that her energy levels were low. She needed to recharge. Hopefully, the other birds would do just that…

They reached the Kiros bird exhibit, and T-4 peered over Inaya’s shoulder as she asked what kind of bird it was. He leaned over, his white-yellow eyes dancing over the winged animal as he scanned it. “It’s a Kiros bird,” he explained, having tapped into the local HoloNet. “They are apparently quite intelligent, and are able to understand conversations. I wouldn’t be surprised if it responded to something you said.”

The young girl commented on its appearance, and the droid froze, his eyes darting to her before darting back to the bird. He was programmed to recognize aesthetically pleasing sights like most droids… he just wasn’t usually asked for his opinion on them. “Yes… very cute,” he said, slowly nodding.

He wished to say something else encouraging, but the words didn’t come. Maybe Cassius will get you one, a thought crossed his processors, then quickly denied it from reaching his vocabulator. The young Jedi was unlikely to let wildlife onto the Stardust, where they could make a mess.

Through the tall yellow grass illuminated by the orange sun on the horizon, Cassius cut across the terrain on his speederbike. Steady beeps lead him to the coordinates where there had been a recent poacher attack. Nearing the site, he slowed to a halt and dismounted, taking a look around. The grass was haphazardly flattened in this area, and there was a good amount of crimson blood in the spot.

The side of Cassius’s mouth dipped into a frown. An animal had been killed here, alright. Normally, Cassius wasn’t opposed to killing animals like some of his cohorts, but these were protected beasts, so the men who did this were not hunters, but poachers.

He saw something glint in the sunlight. Kneeling down, he spotted a dispensed tibanna gas pack. Must’ve been emptied by a poacher. Reaching out, he touched the object, and tapped into its history. There had been a team of six – they had chased down the animal in two-person speeders before shooting it down. Further back than that, he saw the vital piece of information he needed – the location of their camp. It looked to be nestled in between two rock formations.

Opening his eyes, he looked up, to the horizon. The same rock formations were there.

[member="Inaya"]

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

Inaya grinned as Tee-four agreed that the colorful birds were cute. She’d taken in what the droid told her about the creature before her. Moving closer to the display, she traced her index finger of the words etched into the wooden informational display. “Ki-ross biirrrd,” She sounded the name out. “Kiros bird.” Inaya repeated, this time with more confidence.

After another glance at T-4D4, she stood upon tip-toe and spotted a pretty Kiros bird perched on a nearby branch. Smiling, Inaya called out to the bird, “Hi! Hi, cutie bird!” Motioning with her hand, she continued to try and lure the bird over. “Come, come! Come here, little bird!”

Finally, the Kiros bird flapped its wings and came to balance on a branch close to Inaya. Its small eyes seemed to study the girl, watching her with curiously. A few melodic tweets were given as greeting, making Inaya giggle in turn. “I like you,” She said, resisting the urge to stick her fingers through the mesh that separated her from the Kiros bird.

Much to her surprise, the bird chirped out a response: “I like you,”

Laughing merrily, Inaya walked back over to T-4. “Did you hear? It likes me!” The cheer had returned to the girl’s eyes, the excitement restored. “I wish… Big Brother was here.”

[member="Cassius Droma"]

 

[Eugen Aker]

She finished collecting all the bloody bits of the Porg, then made them all disappear in a blink. While she couldn't bring the poor critter back, at least the people wouldn't have to go through the horror of witnessing its entrails strewn all over the ground.

A question from Elizah made her turn toward the raven-haired woman, a Loth-cat perched on her shoulder. At first, she interpreted her questioning and expression as one of mocking, but after a closer look, she saw something else entirely: genuine admiration. She was initially confused, but after looking upon the hordes of frozen people and animals behind Elizah, she understood.

The woman was attracted to power.

"I'm fine, thanks" she replied politely, no condescending tone now. "Interesting friend you made."

She reached out to stroke the Loth-cat behind the ear, which elicited a loud purr. She had been about to tell Elizah to set the feline down, but it was just so darn cute. Eh, after dead Porg, the Zoo wouldn't be too hurt missing one more common critter.

The Yumi twin - who she now recognized as Tana - approached her asking if he could tag along. Jyoti couldn't help but snort in response, given the absurdity of the situation and the fact that she always seemed to find the boy looking lost.

"We're actually on our way out, but you can join us if you like."

She motioned for everyone to start moving, and whenever they did, she would follow. As they came near the exit of the exhibit, she released her hold on everyone in the area, returning the space back to normal. Most would continue on as if nothing had ever happened, leaving only a few confused bystanders to ponder over the cause of their previous panicked state.

It was about this time that Leah stirred back to consciousness within her hold, full of questions.

"There was an accident," Jyoti answered simply, keeping her response purposely vague. She had worked so damn hard to get the Galdraani to start trusting Force Users, and she wasn't going to let one unstable Sith wreck her progress. "I'm taking you back to my ship to rest."

Hopefully, Leah didn't probe her more. Jyoti was in that mood where she wouldn't mind carrying the Countess in stasis, too.

After setting Leah down in her personal cabin, there were two calls Jyoti made that afternoon. The first was to the Zoo administration, offering an apology for events even if she could have gotten away with it. There were lots of angry complaints from the other end, culminating in a threat of a lifetime ban from the premises, but their tune drastically changed once Jyoti offered them a most generous grant from the vast coffers of the Silver Service Corps.

In one sentence, she had turned from a nuisance to donor and investor.

Credits talk.

The second call was to a local gourmet ice cream parlor she had planned on visiting earlier, ordering several tubs of their best product all the fixings. (To include heavy whipping cream and bacon bits for a certain self-described carnivore.) Once the ice cream was delivered, she gathered everyone into the mess area.

"Today was fairly...heated," she started, silver eyes making a circuit around the room. "But I know we can fix that before we leave, starting now. Please, enjoy."

Smiling, she leaned back against one of the counters with her arms crossed as she played chaperone once more, but behind that impenetrable mask of composure and serenity, she was still quite irked.

She had wanted to play with the Porgs.

[member="Leah Winsclav"] [member="Tanaski Yumi"] [member="Josh DragonsFlame"] [member="Samka Derith"] [member="Scherezade deWinter"] [member="Charlie Nooran"]

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Josh was not blind to his capabilities. To his experience. So much of his life had been devoted to battle, and he had forged a reputation for his abilities, even if he mainly used them these days to train others. And yet [member="Jyoti Nooran"] was one of the few that he knew for sure that he could consider an equal in regards to power. She had his respect, as a warrior and as a peer. No, Scherezade would not have stood a chance if she were to face down a motivated Jyoti. Even if she was talented for an apprentice level Sith, capable of cutting people down very easily... Jyoti was high above. But he also had a feeling he hadn't seen the last of Scherezade's capabilities either. The question was, how high was it's ceiling?

These were questions for another day. The fact was that Scherezade had stood her down, for Jason, in the middle of Jyoti showcasing her power. And that was not something that Josh would forget. He did not forget these kinds of things. Just as he hadn't forgotten Jyoti's time babysitting him, or making little crochets for him. That, he didn't forget either.

He had been invited to eat ice cream with the other Silvers. He had told [member="Scherezade deWinter"] she was free to come along, of course, despite everything. But he didn't know if she would. He honestly would be surprised if she did, but her company would be welcome regardless. While he had wanted Jason - and even he himself kind of did as well - to be able to play with the porgs, and Jason was already asking about the porgs and when they could go see them again, Jyoti had flushed Jason's mind of it for the time being at the mere mention of his favorite treat. The child's eyes lit up. And that was a sight for sore eyes for Josh.

As people would begin heading for the ice cream, Josh would quickly make his way forward with Jason, wanting to ensure that Jason got his pick as soon as possible. The child had a whirlwind of a day, and the first thing Josh wanted to do at the first moment possible was to make it a happy one. Once the two of them had ice cream, with intention to go back for more after, Josh would walk toward Jyoti the moment he could catch her alone, and greet her with a warm smile.

"Thank you, Jyoti. This means a lot" He spoke softly as brown eyes stared into her own, his eyes, his expression, having been filled with life the moment that he could see the life in Jason's. He had said "Jyoti" this time, which was unusual considering how often he tended to refer to her by a more formal pronoun. He was compelled to do... Something. But what? In all the time he'd known Jyoti, he could not recall a moment that any sort of physical intimacy had been shared between them, and he'd always gotten the impression that she was not the type that enjoyed that. Sure, she'd done it once to that kid during the meeting, but that was a kid, and it seemed to shock the others in the chamber as well... Perhaps it was best not to risk bringing her any discomfort. Especially when she had made Jason happy.

"Say thank you to aunty Jyoti for the ice cream, Jason" Josh spoke toward Jason as the child would perk up from his ice cream and look up at Jyoti with big brown eyes and a big, brimming smile. "Thank you!"

[member="Leah Winsclav"] [member="Tanaski Yumi"] [member="Samka Derith"] [member="Charlie Nooran"] [member="Asaraa Vaashe"]

 

[Cassius Droma]

​

T-4D4’s head cocked to the side in curiosity at the Kiros bird actually spoke to Inaya. The bird had no doubt been around humanoids for so long that it had learned some Galactic Basic, or at the very least, learned how to mimic it when a phrase was spoken. Whatever his fascination with the domestication of the bird, it had seemed to lift the young girl’s spirits, which according to Cassius, was ‘all that mattered’.

“Yes, I heard it,” T-4 nodded his head in earnest, remembering something that Cassius had told him – just nod and confirm what they’ve said. Apparently, that was about eighty percent of conversations adults had with their young offspring. At least, that’s what Cassius had told him, but he wasn’t even a parent.

In an effort to keep her spirits high, T-4 toned, “I’m sure Cassius will be on his way soon.” The droid noted the time on his internal chronometer. They hadn’t been apart for too long. With any luck, Cassius was making quick work of the poachers he was sent to find, or at the very least, identify them and put trackers on their transports.

​

About a hundred meters above the poacher’s camp, Cassius sat watching them on a rocky outcropping. The craggy rock formations provided excellent cover for the poachers, but they concealed Cassius as well. He’d been watching them for a few minutes with his macrobinoculars, laying on his stomach and bracing with his elbows.

There was only five of them – lightly armed in regards to blasters. Their hunting rifles had some punch to them, sure, but they wouldn’t be so effective at short range. All of their other hunting gear had been packed away on their transport for the time being; they were leaving soon. The main piece of cargo he saw loaded was some various items that he could identify as being taken from the local wildlife.

The logical side of him knew that he could simply wait until the local security forces arrived to arrest them, or that he could wait until nightfall. Then again, he felt a pull, an impatience… he needed to get this done. He sent a short transmission to the local security, then leapt off of his perch.

Gianna certainly wouldn’t approve of this.

Landing on the outer edge of the camp, he was quickly noticed by the poachers. Lightsaber already in hand, though, it sprang to life as he zipped forwards, using the Force to quicken his movements and reflexes. With the blade set to its default non-lethal mode, he was beating and stunning them rather than slicing them to pieces. He took the first one out before anyone could even get a shot off, and from there he kept moving, deflecting blaster bolts away as he made quick work of the rest of the hunters. A smack to the ribs to one, a powerful Force blast to another.

Within a matter of moments, the camp was silent. Cassius’s blade sipped back into its hilt. Reaching into his belt, he took out instant restraining coils and tossed them onto the poachers, rendering unable to move until released.

Cassius placed his hands on his hips as he surveyed the area, noting how that had gone much better than expected. Just as he was about to take out his communicator, he heard a small croaking at his feet. Looking down, he saw a small porg, tapping at his boot. Kneeling down, he let the small avian climb onto his hand.

He had an idea.

Soon after, the tell-tale sound of a wide-bar engine typically placed on YT-series light freighters could be heard at the menagerie. The Stardust Melody hissed and clunked as it lowered onto its assigned pad, the landing gears locking into place. The loading ramp lowered, and Cassius stepped down, his hand behind his back, looking for T-4D4 and Inaya.

[member="Inaya"]

 

[Samka Derith]

The day had been more peculiar than she'd expected yet it had reinforced one thing - these people were disorganised and they were dangerous for it. A simple trip to the zoo had required the intervention of a stronger, more powerful figure - in this case Jyoti Nooran - merely to keep chaos for overtaking things. It was as she had always been taught. The weak need the strong to guide them or society suffers. As far as she could tell, the Silver Jedi remained evidence of that.

All was as she'd known.

She sat away from the others in the mess hall, naturally. The Ren sat at a table beside the wall. They wouldn't want her company mixed in and she didn't particularly desire theirs. As much as she'd disliked the lack of social interaction she'd had in the cell, the silence was suddenly appealing again. Surprisingly enough, Jyoti had gotten her an ice cream as well and beyond that, a pet.

Opposite her, pacing on the table was the Loth-Cat, the creature unwilling to part with her. An odd thing, Samka wasn't sure why it was so attached to her already but here it was, unwilling to part from her. Jyoti had simply said to take it with them as though taking a zoo animal was a simple affair. Her crimson gaze flickered once more to the Jedi Master, apparently able to get what she wanted whenever she so desired. Curiouser and curiouser that one. The glance was only quick before settling once more on the pet who was looking intently at the frozen treat in the young woman's hands. The animal leaned in for a lick, prompting Samka to push the creature back slightly.

"No, no," she ordered the beast. "This is mine."

It whined softly, lowering its head.

"Urg," Samka removed a smudge of the ice cream and dropped it on the table before the Loth-Cat which eagerly began to lap it up. "I don't know your species diet so let's hope I haven't killed you," the Ren smirked.

It didn't have a name or at least Sam hadn't caught it at the zoo. It was probably up to her to name the beast since it was so attached to her. Naming it after someone she missed could be a fitting tribute, someone who made better company than anyone on this side of the galaxy. 'Ara' came to mind first, [member="Ara Zambrano"] being one of the few she could socialise with earnestly. Another name rose up surprisingly quickly for a dead woman, [member="Irajah Ven"]. It had been a long while since the doctor had crossed her mind and with it a small prang of discomfort in her stomach. That was something she'd never felt before. Regret? There was no room for regrets. The woman was a traitor, regardless of personal feelings. Perhaps time spent isolated from the Dark Side was making her weaker. Samka shook her head, clearing her mind again. The creature was male, calling it 'Ara' or 'Raj' would not be appropriate.

She placed an elbow on the table, looking intently at the little mammal, still licking every scrap off the table, to think of a fitting name.

[member="Josh DragonsFlame"] | [member="Jyoti Nooran"] | [member="Charlie Nooran"] | [member="Leah Winsclav"] | [member="Tanaski Yumi"] | [member="Scherezade deWinter"]​

 

[Charlie Nooran]

Receiving the notice for the ice cream party, Charlie happily left once the investigation was over. She had not enjoyed not having the day off, but it was a good lesson to learn and she would ace her next exam with flying colors. Looking down at the map for the zoo, she noticed she would walk by the petting zoo – which meant she could play with the loth-cats and porgs right before reporting for the ice cream. Taking a moment to quickly change, she now looked like someone who was here to enjoy their day. The black backpack bounced on her back as the Seoulian girl was nearly skipping towards the pathway to the petting zoo. Sadly, it was closed for reasons. A rain cloud hovered over her mood as she finished her uneventful trip to the mess area where things were already lively.

Slipping into the line to receive her first helping of ice cream, she glanced up and waved towards Jyoti. It was then as she was picking out her flavor, that she noticed something nearby her Master with a Loth-cat. Elizah. Forgetting about the ice cream for just a moment, the padawan was mulling over why the darksider was wandering around with them, beyond that there was a tug at the back of her mind to go and try and talk to the girl. Nodding at every topping, minus the bacon – Charlie had her mountain of ice cream and she sat down at a table nearby Elizah and the loth-cat.

She didn’t go directly to the girl, knowing that she had been told to stay away, but she did her best to not stare as she ate her ice cream. Which wasn’t the neatest, but she didn’t make the biggest mess possible. Vamilla and chocolate clung to her upper lip as she ate the ice cream quickly – fighting against the brain freeze she was suffering. Now fully involved in the devouring of the ice cream, Charlie’s focus faded from Elizah for the moment as she was making sure she got every last drop possible in the cup that harbored the dessert.

[member="Samka Derith"] [member="Jyoti Nooran"] [member="Josh DragonsFlame"] [member="Tanaski Yumi"] [member="Scherezade deWinter"]