Private When All Is Lost

[Karissa Saitel]

Location: Bog Moon of Bogden
Equipment: BH-Specter Slicer Vibroknife /BH-Durin Charric Blaster Pistol / SBG-01x Bodyglove / Multipack / TIE/OT Outlander Starfighter
Tag: Aleena Aryss

Well, that was it. She would not meet her fate in a glorious hail of blaster fire serving the Order to the last breath, to be lauded in song and prose as a valiant agent of order and freedom in the galaxy. Karissa would die hanging upside down in a swamp, bleeding out from numerous Sungwa wounds. She would be eaten, and the next person to find her would see a bare skeleton and have no idea how skillful, lethal, well-equipped and pretty she had been. Karissa thought she should be crying, but found the whole situation too ironic and infuriating to mourn.

Special Agent Karissa Saitel of the Imperial Security Bureau had been assigned the simple task of retrieving data from the computer of a lost imperial courier ship. Easy enough, aside from the fact that the ship had gone down years before in a conflict between the Alliance and an ill-fated imperial coalition somewhere among the twenty moons of Bodgen, which were now in Alliance territory. Imperial spybots located the most likely remains of the ship on one of the swampy, gunky moons.

Karissa had managed with her determination and skill to find the wrecked courier, download the encrypted data (she had no idea what it was, it wasn't her job to know it, just to get it), and make her way back through the muck-mess to her hidden TIE fighter. That's when her tidy little mission slid sideways.

She had managed to avoid up to that point the myriad of nasty critters and sketchy plant-life of the Bog Moon, slipping past some, shooting some and gutting some with her blade. But her luck ran out when she was surrounded by a pack of sungwa. Big, filthy, shifty creatures with nasty sharp teeth that tore at her body suit. She might have been able to kill them all eventually, if not for the vines that reached down and wrapped around her arms and legs. Good news was that the mindless plants lifted her out of the reach of the sungwa. Bad news was that they didn't seem to want to let her go, while almost all of her equipment fell to the ground below her. So, she hung upside down from the clutches of the aminated vines, looking down at her torn multipack where the mangy sungwa had rooted out her emergency rations, and she could see drops of her own blood staining her gear as she bled from numerous bite and claw wounds. Karissa was feeling woozy from the loss of blood. She was in a big pile of shyke.

"Feth."

 

[Aleena Aryss]

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Location: Bogden​

Appearance: Aleena​

Tag: Karissa Saitel ​

Aleena had traveled to Bogden to deepen her understanding of fauna and flora in the Galaxy. Ever since she was little, she spent much of her time out in the Garden, forests nearby, and anywhere she could go to connect with the world around her. At the time, she didn't know just how deep her connection ran with nature, but now? She had learned to connect with animals and keep them calm regardless of their instincts; she was able to manipulate the growth and behavior of plant life and could alter the environment herself.​

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These types of skills required a lot of restraint, as Jedi were extremely careful when it came to manipulating anything natural. But Aleena had never used her skills to do harm — only to help others.​

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So when she moved through the Bogden swamp and picked up on a trail of animals killed either by blaster or blade, she had a feeling that someone had found themselves in a clash with the local wildlife. Whilst keeping the animals away from herself, Aleena followed the path of death until she spotted something in the distance. A woman? She was hanging from vines and looked to be in a rather bad shape.​

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But as she slowly approached her, Aleena felt the predators as well, still lurking in the area. They had torn away at the equipment below the woman but were likely hoping for her body to come down eventually. With her hands raised to about her hips, Aleena walked over and felt the beasts surrounding her. Yet, none of them attacked as a wave of calming emotions echoed out to them through the Force.​

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It allowed her to reach Karissa safely, which is where she stopped to look up.​

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"Hang in there, I'm going to help you." Aleena didn't realize the irony of her words at all and simply placed her hands against the bottom of the vines. Her deep blue eyes glowed for a moment, and a few gentle but inaudible words left her lips.​

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All of a sudden, the vines began to change and gradually lowered the woman, until she came to rest on the ground below.​

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"Are you okay?" she asked with a sweet smile.​

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[Karissa Saitel]

Consciousness became an iffy thing, Karissa fading in and out as her vision would darken, then return. The pounding in her head as she hung upside down was what she had focused on. As long as her ears pounded, her heart was still going. She could hear the rustle of creatures around her, see shapes moving now and then. But Karissa had not given up completely, and strained as best she could from time to time to see if the vines would give at all. But they didn't.

Hope, if not consciousness, was pretty much lost when her strange upside down perspective identified a new creature approaching, or rather, a person, by the look of the legs. The skittering in the swamp seemed to cease as the person approached. A weary lift of her head revealed the owner of the legs. A woman. A pretty woman with a kind face. Well, that didn't belong in this nasty mudhole of a planet. So now the hallucinations were beginning.

The out-of-place woman spoke, her voice gentle, her words clever but seemingly unintentionally so. Karissa remained silent, curious, but too far gone to be cautious. With a touch, the stranger coaxed the vines to not only let her go, but do so gently. As she was lain on the damp soft detritus, the imperial spy looked up at her savior. The woman was certainly saintly and gifted, but Karissa scowled a bit at the blonde's question. She wanted to be a smart ass. She wanted to say...No, I'm not okay, I've was nearly gnawed to death by giant rats and then hung upside down like a dressed womprat. But that would be rude, especially since one of her two problems had already been solved by the new arrival, that being getting out of the vines. Now, Karissa wanted to see if her new angel could fix the second problem, her numerous festering wounds.

"Um..." She said, her voice cracking, "... I got pretty chewed up." She replied, lifting an arm to point to numerous wounds, but finding it too painful to do so. "I don't suppose you got a medpac or two on you?" She asked with the faintest weak smile, her eyes darting around, concerned about the return of the sungwas.

Aleena Aryss

 

[Aleena Aryss]

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Location: Bogden​

Appearance: Aleena​

Tag: Karissa Saitel ​

Aleena wanted to bury her face in the muddy water when she realized just how stupid her question had been. Even from down below, it had been easy to see the woman's injuries, and Aleena was able to sense them as well. Or at least, the pain they caused the stranger were like small echoes in the Force she could pick up on.​

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"Right Uhm, sorry." she blinked and carefully lowered herself beside the woman, down to her knees.​

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"Just sit still and try to relax."​

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Then without any apparent care for the beasts in the environment, Aleena reached out with both her hands and placed them against Karissa's body, but away from the injuries. Again, her blue eyes seemed to glow a little as the blonde Jedi allowed the Force to flow between them. At heart, Aleena was a Jedi Healer, so taking away the pain whilst closing up the wounds wasn't the most difficult.​

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Gaping holes or massive lightsaber cuts would have been an entirely different story.​

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"There..." she said as some drops of sweat ran down her forehead. The worst of the injuries had faded completely and along with it, Karissa would no longer feel any pain. She could faintly still see where she had been clawed open or bitten, but those marks were bound to fade with some time as well.​

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"Feeling better?"​

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[Karissa Saitel]

Location: Bog Moon of Bogden
Tag; Aleena Aryss

Karissa lay on her back on the spongy, damp ground looking up at the blonde. The wounded agent wondered if she had some medpacs or simple first aid supplies on her. Karissa's one medpac had fallen out with the rest of her gear and disappeared in the tangle of vines and wet mud holes. Her questions were not answered as the woman knelt beside her. Still, with no supplies, the stranger ordered her, in a kind tone, to be still and relax. Karissa's brows furrowed in curiosity, but she did as she was told, basically because she didn't feel at all like moving anyway.

The imperial flinched a bit when the blonde reached for her, but allowed the stranger's hands to rest on her body. The woman's rather lovely blue gaze grew slightly luminous, and then a strange sensation began where those hands touched her, then radiated outward. Karissa tensed up, hissing as she sucked air in between her teeth in surprise. Magic? The Force? A Jedi? Regardless the source of her power, the woman's use of it numbed the sting and pain of the numerous lacerations on her body.

Karissa didn't take her eyes off of the woman. Her face was gentle and pretty, but began to show signs that the healing she performed was taxing. Beads of sweat gathered on her brow. Then, the hands relented and the woman spoke again.

"Yes...um...thanks." Karissa replied.

Ever the diligent agent, once the wonder of her healing had passed, Karissa began to consider the nature of the situation. She was in Alliance space as an imperial agent. A Jedi, she supposed, had just saved her. Questions were certainly going to follow this curious encounter.

"I... would gladly transfer you some credits in appreciation." Karissa said, sitting up. She pulled open one of the tears in her body suit to see a barely discernible scar where a deep cut had been. She assumed all her wounds would appear the same. Then she stood, quickly gathering her gear. "I should be on my way, I don't want to keep you from...whatever you are doing in this armpit of a moon."

Her ship was still a ways off, and she needed to get off world as soon as possible, ifshe could manage to do so without being attacked again, or strung up by those damned vines. With her luck, nosey pirates would also make an appearance in the growing nightmare that was her mission.

 

[Aleena Aryss]

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Location: Bogden​

Appearance: Aleena​

Tag: Karissa Saitel ​

Despite the exhaustion from healing the woman and handling the vines earlier, Aleena smiled when Karissa seemed to be doing better. At this point, she hadn't even considered allegiances or why the other was here. She was a true healer at heart, and anybody who needed medical assistance would receive it. As long as they didn't try to harm her.​

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"I'm glad you're feeling better, but I don't need any credits." she said with a bright smile. ​

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Slowly, the blonde Jedi got back up to her feet and began to pick up some of Karissa's gear that had fallen down while she was hanging up in the vines. She offered it back and looked her up and down for a moment. ​

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"Well, I might have healed your injuries but there are more of these animals and plants out there. So I don't think you should be traveling alone." Her tone already suggested what she was offering. "If you don't mind, I can come along to help you get back to your ship safely. I just came here to study the fauna and flora, but that can wait."​

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Looking the woman over again, she began to notice signs of the group she belonged to — it wasn't her first time meeting someone from the NIO, and last time she was treated well, and the man she met had even saved her life. Now she had an opportunity to do something to help someone else.​

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For once, she didn't feel that helpless.​

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"Oh and I think I forgot, but my name is Aleena." she said as a hand came up through her blonde locks.​

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[Karissa Saitel]

Location: Bog Moon of Bogden
Tag; Aleena Aryss

Karissa had set about hastily gathering her gear. A hand went subtly to a press against a pocket in her vest. She was relieved to feel the datastick with the gathered information still safely on her. The imperial agent retrieved the items the stranger had picked up and nodded with gratitude. As her pack was cinched up and slung on her back, the woman made an offer to accompany her.

The last thing Karissa needed was company. She needed to get to her ship and off planet in secret, something that had already been compromised. The healer had not let on that she knew, or cared, about Karissa's allegiance or purpose on the moon. But Karissa was a spy since little more than a teenager, and her trust of people she didn't know was thin.

"Uh, thanks but no... I have kept you long enough already..." She began, trying to give the woman, Aleena, a polite brush off. Then, out in the misty bog, the sounds of those creatures that attacked her could be heard. Karissa turned to look at Aleena. "You really can keep them away from us?" She asked. If the Force-using blonde could keep the dangerous critters at bay, it would be much less inconspicuous than Karissa blasting everything that moved. "If you can, then...yes, I would appreciate it. But I need to get moving." Still, there was no question of why she was in the middle of the swampy bog of a moon.

"My ship is this way." Karissa said, gesturing to one side, then turning to begin making her way through the soft ground.

 

[Aleena Aryss]

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Location: Bogden​

Appearance: Aleena​

Tag: Karissa Saitel ​

"Uh, thanks but no... I have kept you long enough already..."​

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Aleena briefly frowned but before she could insist, the creatures of the planet helped encourage the woman to reconsider. With her guns and knives, she was likely able to keep off a lot of dangerous beasts, but this planet was treacherous. A single wrong step and you could end up hanging upside down from some vines with dangerous beasts lurking nearby.​

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"I can keep them back, yes. It's a technique called Animal Friendship — I use it to keep creatures calm and to demotivate them from attacking me." Aleena explained as she began to hop along with the other woman. Thus far, the topic had never shifted much to why they were on the planet, to begin with. ​

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But Aleena began to grow a tad curious.​

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"Hey uh, what brought you all the way out here alone, anyway?" She asked before she gestured to the area with both her arms.​

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"This isn't really the safest place to be if you're not sure what you're doing." Aleena didn't realize it could be taken the wrong way. To her, it wasn't meant to be an insult at all; she just felt that Karissa seemed to be a little outgunned by all the dangers here.​

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[Karissa Saitel]

Location: Bog Moon of Bogden
Tag; Aleena Aryss

As the pair began to move through the thick marsh, Karissa listened to Aleena, but kept her eyes constantly moving, to both find good footing as she move, to avoid tripping over roots, and to keep an eye out for danger. Aleena seemed unconcerned about the denizens of the bog, relying on her 'technique', most certainly similar to the way she healed. The Force.

After a moment of silence between them Aleena could not contain her curiosity and asked about Karissa's purpose on the bog moon. Karissa started to think of lies to tell the blonde woman. It was her craft, as a spy. But there was not a lot of ways to explain why she was alone in the marshy wilderness. Besides, the woman saved her life. The imperial decided on revealing only half of the truth.

"I was looking for a downed ship, and I found it." She replied without looking to her companion. That could have made her about anyone, from a smuggler or pirate to some government or corporate agent to just what she was, a covert operative. She added no more, hoping that would, at least temporarily, satisfy the healer. Then, it was her turn for questions.

"You a Jedi?" Karissa inquired, glancing for a moment at the woman, her brow quirked.