Mother Machine Gun (Jehkran Dmath)

[Rayna Eclipse]

As her head poked just above the floor a scene of a dozen different aliens and humans mingling in a dimly lit room flooded her vision. As she scanned the room slowly, a furry alien bumped into her back and cursed at her in a language she'd probably never hear again.

"Sorry." She said insincerely and continued up the stairs. Still no sign of the man. Descriptions of this individual were sketchy at best, but they all had one thing in common, he had deformed growths beneath his eyes that were unique and very noticable, most likely a product of being half-alien. She leaned to the left to get a better look at a man who turned out to not be who she was looking for.

As she walked to the middle of the room, she glanced towards the commotion rising from one of the illegal gambling tables. A sharply dressed man had his back to her and a few alien women hanging from each shoulder, dropping sweet phrases in his ears. Maybe this was him, there was no way to tell without staring. She looked away and headed to the bar, mindful of the gambling table in the corner of the room.

Act natural.

She hated this sneaking around and spying business, but when intelligence is bad one simply has to get it on their own. A fact she did not like dealing with. "A Corellian Ale... please." She said to the droid barkeeper and casually looked towards the gambling table, no face shot.

The droid set the ale down in front of her as she slid him the payment. Sipping slowly, she had no real taste for Ale, she studied the people on the other side of the room, trying to stay open to the possibility that her target might be someone else.

She came up with nothing and leaned her face on her hands, staring at the bar surface less than a foot and a half away. She sighed and looked back up. Patience, a Jedi's virtue. She needed to work on that. Something caught the corner of her eye, she turned her head to the white haired man next to her, realizing her open display of dipair wasn't exactly acting natural. "Can I help you?"

[Ira Yahff]

The place reeked of slime. A must of muck, oil and grease mixed into a dastardly aroma, forming a tentacle that wrapped foreign men's sense into the present. Very people were off-worlders, but those that were stuck out like a krayt dragon in a stampede. Yet one didn't. The windows of his soul glazed over as his mind fumbled with ideas. Concepts, rituals, life and troubles were handled with care a long circuits of his brain.

Physically he was in a blend, a blur amidst the sentient beings. Yet in his mind he departed from the world all together. A thousand years had seemed to past since he felt at ease, one with the breeze. The cadence that he once stepped with in days forgotten had been waved away. Figrin D'an band no longer played in his mind since he woke from his coma.

Instead there was a triumph void of lost memories left behind. The only visions his camera-eye had captured was childhood, his teenage years. Yet the rest were shots the light distorted, left completely in the darkness of his complex mind.

So, he paraded across the galaxy. Stepping off beat, finding not a single place for a reminder. Nothing triggered his senses anymore. Only a blank sheet, without writing, awaiting his penmanship. His mind worked with these thoughts, but with an abruptness his contemplation was terminated. Words sliced through his deep silence.

The glaze of his brown eyes was packaged away. Glancing over, he noticed the woman. Although his senses kicked in, lightly snarling at the stench that collapsed on the air, he noticed her smell. She smelt good. In a blink, his smile came into view and he remembered the words that ended his lull. Time to answer...

"Oh, no..." He muttered politely. The words ran off in uncertainty. Something was missing--he wanted to add more.

"...I mean, ya. A drink, maybe?"

[Rayna Eclipse]

She was confused, was he asking for a drink or offering one? "Um, I think I'll pass." She half smiled and held up the glass. "This one is still full."

She looked quickly over at the gambling table, she caught a brief glimpse of the face. This was the right guy. at least a short glimpse of him told this. She'd have to see again to make sure. Turning on her stool she faced Jehkran so she could keep an eye on the gamblers.

"So, um..." She was a horrible small talker. "So, what brings you here?" She wanted to smack herself for soemthing so boring to ask. She glanced again at the table, it'd all be over soon enough.

[Ira Yahff]

The Echani felt a discomfort. It was clear that this woman wasn't very sociable. An uneasiness was set about her, and it almost entangled him. Albeit very nice on the eyes, she definately spoke with an uncertainty. However it only took a moment before he noticed the reason.

Leaning back, Jehkran jarred his eyes off her for a moment's time. He followed where the girl's had swung off to. A table sat behind him, a crowd of demonic figures spread about. They were a field of gambits, and troubled beings. Even when a silence or lull came from the table, their presence was still felt. All of them, from the trophy girls on shoulders, to the foolish players were accessories to the stench that stampeded through the air.

Swinging his eyes back into focus, he locked back onto the woman. Although he didn't readily speak, he did examine. She was definately a gem amidst this fleet of heathens. Even before she had walked over to the stool beside him, it was hard not to notice here.

"Is that really what you came here to talk about?" Jehkran asked. A voice dull, neutral and in whisper crept from his smooth tongue. He was serious. "I know you didn't come here to talk to little ol' me."

[Rayna Eclipse]

This could be either good or bad, where was he going with this? He couldn't know what she was really there for, or maybe he could. He could be some sort of embedded security for the very man she was after. Doubtful, he was rich, but not that rich. She glanced at the table again as a plan formulated in her head.

"True." She responded. "What makes you so interested in my business?"

[Ira Yahff]

Contemplation painted itself across the woman's face. He had seen it many times before. The tight spots of life always construed the features. Evil, happiness, glory and anger could be as easily found in the as in the face. And so he stared, for only a second, deeply into her eyes in a crave for knowledge.

Then, suddenly, he smiled. Her interest had sparked something in him. He felt in control.

"Because gentlemen don't let women get into unneeded trouble." Jehkran always spoke with a radiance, and lucidity. Yet, his voice had an undertone of rasp and adventure, even in it's most dull forms. He had a voice of a spacer, of a man of prestige, and a Corellian. In no way, at least from his voice, could be considered an everyday suitor.

"Not that I'm much of a gentleman at all."

He sniggled. The conversation was managing to get better.

[Rayna Eclipse]

"Unneeded trouble?" She said with a little surprise at his assumtion that he knew what she was up to, whether he was right or wrong made no difference. "And what makes you so sure you know the nature of business?"

She glanced at the table again, now it was only a matter of time. She only needed the right moment.

[Ira Yahff]

An eyebrow shot like an arrow toward his forward. There was a certainty in his voice, he remembered. Yet, he was clearly stringing onto an assumption, but there was always a reason. Even when it wasn't divulged.

"I don't know," he whispered, as he swung casually off to the side. For a moment his eyes stayed trapped on her. There was a time to survey, and a time to admire. He managed to combine both.

She was still very interested in the table. Although the people were quite ugly, they definately weren't that vile to stare so long. Not a single thing good could come out of being entangled in their lives, which was one of the reasons he didn't follow her eyes off in their direction this time. Often times the bartender was engulfed in the scum the came around cantina, so he played it safe.

"So, whats at that table that your so attracted to?" Jehkran smiled. "I hope it's not the guys over there."

[Rayna Eclipse]

She smiled, only slightly. "Not quite." She glanced over there again. "Do you gamble?" She grabbed his arm and began to walk briskly towards the table, Jehkran in tow.

"Gentlemen, care if we join your game?" She said, pushing two suited men out of the way.

"It's a closed table." A leathery faced alien snarled and rattled the chance cubes in his hand.

She turned to face the target man and met his eyes. "Will you let us join?" She said a little more sternly. "I assure you it will be worth your time."

The half-alien squinted his eyes in contemplation, his face gave away his suspicion.

"I'll put 200 credits down."

"Alright." He said to his fellow gamblers in a heavily accented tone. "Make room for our high rolling friend here."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the neccessary credits, setting the notes on the table.

As the chance cubes rolled in the leather-face's hand once more Rayna turned and whispered to Jehkran, "I hope you have credits." She paused as she realized what the man, who's name she had yet to learn, might be thinking about her. She smiled the sweet smile she used to use to woo the rich clients on Corellia, back when she was involved in a more contemptible profession. "I'll pay you back, I swear."

[Ira Yahff]

Jehkran cherished personal space. It was a formality that had foiled dates and practical jokes in the past. Instead of a sense of comfort, a pain ravaged from the feeling of unwarranted touch. For the most part, he hated the discomfort he felt from all things too close. For some it was a pet peeve, but it was a different set of repulse to him.

Instincts told him, as he was abruptly towed away to strike. A sense of fight or flight turned his hands into a puddle. He swallowed back on the spit, gulping down his pride. Normally he would've interjected in the conversation, but he had been reduced to a shelled animal. More than mucus and pride was swallowed. A key to his newly created cage had traveled a long with the other condiments to his concealed anxiety.

As she whispered he felt the last stray drop from the heavens on his hump. Jerking slightly, he shifted his body away, taking back to his bubble.

"Do not touch me," he whispered back. It was random, at least from outside view, but Jehkran knew it needed to be said.

A sigh esacped him. In his newfound bubble he felt at home once again. From the sedate stress of his voice, he melted in a pot of warmth. Opening his eyes, he took in the view of scoundrels. Aliens of all kind, with a pattern of humans scattered about the table like womp rats. Although his personal space had returned, he still felt an uneasiness. These people weren't friends, and probably worst than enemies. Not a single man of the company could care less about Jehkran's next breathe. It disgusted him, and yet he smiled.

"Let's play."

[Rayna Eclipse]

It was a roller coaster of carefully decided wins and losses, Rayna was using the Force to keep the game from being won by any one player. The meanwhile, light conversation and a little nudge through the Force began to convince the group of swinish gamblers that perhaps the two new comers weren't all that bad, especially her.

The chance cubes rolled again, this time she tilted them in her favor for the third time in a row. Smiling, she wiped the credits from the table towards her pile from underneath suspicious eyes.

"You've become pretty lucky all of a sudden." One shorter teal skinned aliens said, baring his rotten and jagged teeth.

"Well, I thank the luck gods then." She replied with an uneasy smile. "Role the cubes again."

Leather-face rolled the chance cubes and again, she tilted the odds in her favor. Grabbing the credits with one hand she leaned to face Jehkran, still mindful of his comment to not touch him. "I told you I was feeling lucky."

She turned around to find all eyes staring at her like daggers. "What?" She protested. "I'm just a lucky girl, and I'll be lucky this round as well. Now who's turn is it to roll?"

Leather-face held out his closed hand, the chance cubes inside. Her hand spread beneath his and he dropped the cubes to her. "Alright!" She said as the cubes juggled in her hand. All eyes followed the hefty amount of credits as it slid across the table. "Who's in? It's four- no, let's make it five. Five hundred."

Several aliens shook their head and refused to put in. Two others, including the target man, pushed their credits in without a word. Both were carefully watching Rayna's hand and movements leading up until she tossed the cubes. She grinned widely as the cubes tumbled across the table finally landing in their resting spots. Her grin faded slowly as the combination completely stripped her of what she had on the table.

As a three fingered hand reached out and grabbed the dice, the little alien chuckled and said, "I'm in, how much?"

Rayna did her best to look devestated, then she glanced back at Jehkran with an uncertain look. She had no idea what he might be thinking, nor did she want to invade his thoughts with the Force. He'd just have to trust her a little bit longer. She put the required amount into the pot and waited for the cubes to roll. As they tumbled from an unattractive human's hand, she forced them into into landing into a position most favorable to the target and least favorable to her.

"Heh..." She mumbled as she watched the credits get dragged away from her. The next rounds were much of the same, Rayna loosing credits and the target winning them. All the while she was putting thoughts of attraction into the mind of the target until he could hardly keep his eyes off her.

Finally, she was clear out of credits and in a small debt as well. Most of them lied in the hands of the target. "Tell you what." She said in a sultry voice. "This is going to be my last round and its going to be you... and me." she pointed to the target. "You're all in. I'll put myself, only for a few hours though, on the line. If you win, its whatever you want."

He chuckled for a moment. "You're not serious."

"I am." she replied.

The group of aliens rose into a cheering and howling fury. Even the usually scowling leather face was grinning. The short one climbed up on a chair to get a clear look, he said. "Now go get 'em boss. Roll the dice already!"

Even smiling, the target man was simply horrid looking. And smile he did as he extravagantly rattled the cubes in his hand and released. The dice, with a little aid from the Force landed all against her favor. The group of scum cheered and howled as the target picked up the credits and approached her. Carefully he studied Jehkran, who for the most part had been silent and observant as Rayna played the game. Then he gripped Rayna's wrist in his hand. "Prepared to fulfill you end of the bargain?"

By now the target was fully blinded with lust, which she had induced through the Force. He began to drag her away towards the back as she looked Jehkran in the eye. To everyone else she was using the Force to pass her ill acted facade as real, she supposed Jehkran saw through it all. Or at least she hoped he did. "Keep them occupied for me."

The entered the back room with a quick pace and the target didn't hesitate to shut the door. She scanned his body for weapons and found a blaster tucked in his belt and beneath his jacket. She moved in close, seductively then made her move. She grabbed the blaster and gripped him by the collar, throwing him up with Force aided strength onto a dresser and against the wall. She could feel the alert rise in the men outside as they each went for thier weapons and the door. Come on boy, She thought in referance to Jehkran. hold 'em off for just five minutes.

[Ira Yahff]

The credits kept going. Over the game his eyes occasionally darted off into the crowd as if in hope of guidance. Albeit the day had started with a sense of innocence, all had changed. He began to study his wrongs, his mishaps. Rarely did he find himself amidst such a crowd, someone of such carelessness or a girl for that matter. Time had morphed him into a reserved introvert of sorts. People just weren't to be trusted, and this disaster proved nothing different.

Even as she whispered into his ear, he kept his focus on other subjects. He had learned to block out the world until it was a void, and this was the best to capitalize on such strength. Only a monk could watch as his credits trickled away without going mad. So, Jehkran stared off into the distance, occasionally revisiting the Hutt Space just to catch up on the growingly horrific situation.

Yet he found himself stuck in the present when his eyes caught the lusty leers of the crowd. Aliens had turned to predators, prepared to jump at a snap at the woman beside him. At first he felt the vision on him, the warmth of the vile critters eyes nearly piercing through his skin like an acid. The feeling sickened him to a near vomit, but he handled it like most things with class.

Booking his hands to his pocket, he carried on with his survey. The table visit had been undone as a tale of failure. Although the Echani had no clear grasp on the woman's motive, he was certain that this wasn't the expected conclusion. Before he could rebut his involvement, his eyes carried off to Rayna.

A look in her eyes triggered something like a quick draw. Suddenly he found his heart at ease, and pressure compressed. She seemed prepared, ready and relaxed. All this had been effortlessly planned ahead. The woman had brains, which was a rare case in the days of the Galactic Civil War. Swaying off, he listened in as the woman and her mark bolted into a back room. Yet the exit of the group's leader did not gratify the herd. Instead they filled their bodies with ferocity.

As the sound of collision clanked out the shut room, blasters were drawn in offense. Amongst the frenzy, he stood as the only one without a ready hand. Despite his solitary life, he had faced such escapades similar. A battle was far from foreign to his world. At times, when his mind to it's exclusive void he simply battled with himself. He was more than ready, but his hands stayed reserved in his pockets. Hopefully they would not be needed.

"Calm down guys," he howled, before sliding his foot ahead. The lead of the oncoming group slip to a fall as Jehkran's extended leg left him at an imbalance. Uneasiness ran in the dust kicked up by the alien's thud response from the newly acquainted friend, the ground. The rest of the group took in whole, prepared to let off their cannons on the Echani.

If only they knew he was Echani. Their legacy ran deep, even in the water-down age of the Empire. Many cultures no longer cultivated the esteem during the steamed train travel of the Empire. Over the years, even during the Galactic Republic's era, basic-speaking humans tarnished the essence of cultures with their close-minded views. Echani had been tampered, but not decimated, and it showed.

Jehkran swept across as if iceskating, lowering his body to the ground as a blaster bolt skirted over his head. Dancing his way over the fallen foe, he jumped and kneeled. Before a moment could pass, the knee lifted with the springs of his other leg and smashed it against the shooter's chin. In a blink the ground called more people. The wood polished floor of the cantina had only the company of the feet before, but now even they couldn't handle the crowded occupation of backs, faces and stomachs pressed a long it's former home.

The Echani had not handled them all, but most of the crew was at a lost before the man's hands even flung from his pockets.

"I said calm down," He repeated with a smirk. Blasters were trivial, and no match for the expressive arts of an Echani combatant. Especially when the marskmen were barley trained in their arts. Most men took to a blaster without any knowledge, and soon found blasting off into space.

But that was most, not all. As Jehkran talked he was quickly banged with a blaster in the back of his head. Before he knew it, he was on the ground, but it could have been worst. If it was not for the frequent fire and attempted robberies the bartender's blaster would have held a lot more energy for a quick bolt to the Echani's back.

The Force was just with some people.

[Rayna Eclipse]

She threw the body from the dresser to the floor and pointed the blaster at his face. Placing a foot on the man's chest and securing the rest of his body with the Force, Rayna began to get down to business. "I know who you work for, I know your business." She pulled a small print of a Falleen male and showed it to him. "Do you know who this is?"

"Yeah."

"How can I reach him?"

"I- I- don't know." The man stuttered.

She was loosing patience, now. Sighing, she amped up the Force pressure. "Where. Can I reach him."

"The- He has a villa on Velskos 3." His eyes twitched for moment. "He moves around a lot. Business stuff."

"Where's the home to this business? Where do you operate out of?"

"I don't know where the heads operate of." He whinced for a moment, expecting some harsh reprecussion.

"Don't play games with me." The blaster closed in towards the man's face. "I'll blow those ugly alien things right off your face."

"I swear, I swear I don't know." The man was trembling. Perhaps he was not as tough as the vibes he put off. "I'm just a low level guy."

"You knew where this guy goes. Why not the others?"

"He's my boss. I've been to his place a few times, that's all I know. Shouldn't you be doing this to someone more important than me?"

Rayna realized that this guy was more worthless than she expected, he told her little more than she already knew. "Well, we all have to start somewhere." She said and tucked the blaster into her belt. She waved her hand across the man's face and set him into a Force induced sleep. She had heard noise from outside the room, hopefully her new friend hadn't got himself into to much trouble.

The door creaked open as she peeked out and scanned the room. Not a single man was still standing, Jehkran included. How did that happen? The door opened for fully giving her a better view of the barkeep and his blaster pointed at her chest.

"Heh." She smiled while raising her hands in the air. "Sorry about the mess. Let me grab my friend and we'll leave now." The two formed a circle as the barkeeper's back was now facing the room Rayna had just left. He turned his head over his sholder and stared at the sleeping man and the mess of the room.

Moving like lightning, she hit the blaster out of the barkeeper's hand and called it to her own with the Force. "Okay?" She said and nodded at the barkeep who now had his hands raised. "We're going to be leaving now, okay?"

She trotted over to the fallen Jehkran, still pointing the blaster at the barkeep. He was out like a light, but overall in decent shape. Leaving him there wasn't an option, but trying to carry him over her shoulders didn't seem like one either. "Hey!" She yelled at him and tapped his cheek. "Hey, wake up."

[Ira Yahff]

The agony was overwhelming, or at least the shock. All there was to accompany his dull senses were the cool floor, and the smell of some Snivvian's feet. One of the aliens he had landed a blow on was only twitch away from his face, and if Jehkran hadn't been left cold on the floor he would have quickly awoke from the stench.

A millennia had seemed to past, his mind escaping to his void as his body was left at a chill back in real time. Faces of the battle came whirling about in his brain as he danced through the combat with the parallel elegance. His mind was rewinding the battle, replaying it over and over again. There was a flaw; there was something wrong with his movements. Something had led him to this awkward dream. What knocked him out?

Before he could conceive an answer he felt something brush against his cheek. Amidst the rubble he created, he lay without even a slight twitch. Only his eyes, barley opening from the long-lashed slits, moved. Under the pressure of his heavy eyes he could only peer into a pollution of colors. From the fallen adversaries came the blind of unique skin tones and even more creative attire. The colors formed a blurred, darkened rainbow.

With one last strain, his eyes opened wide with the catalyst of a blink. The unspecific color clash faded, and the outlines became distinctive. Fallen beings laid about his body, but all he felt was the presence of a towering figure beside him. Instincts pushed their way into his adrenaline tank, surging him for an abrupt jump to his feet. The Echani was ready, but he found, as a competitor was a fearful bartender and the unnamed lady that had put him in the disaster.

"Are we leaving," Jehkran murmured, his voice overwhelmed with grogginess. Although his body was healthy enough to make the jump, he was definitely not all there.

The Echani did not wait for an answer. Stumbling over the feet, he grabbed at woman's wrist and headed to the door. Night brought its eye upon the world, and it showed as the two fumbled out the door. Although Nar Kreeta did not carry the gem Hutt Space's Nal Hutta did, the world was definitely unique. Speeders could be heard humming past, the engines howling throughout the compounded city.

Over the catastrophic affairs within the cantina, Jehkran had almost forgotten his place in the galaxy. Despite the graceful display, he still was a subject of the Hutt and Imperial rule. He was not a king, he was simply a nobody amidst the sheer confusion, and scum and foolishness that the galaxy had succumb to. Albeit an introvert, he had his own ideals of the galaxy he was born in and they weren't grateful.

"So, what is your name?" Jehkran asked, his voice becoming clearer, but still his undertone sustained a rasp. "And what happened in there?"

Finally the Echani let his eyes fall onto the anonymous female. For the first time he glared at her, but without contempt. He was confused, and needed guidance. The ordeal had become far too much for him to control, and the bump under the brush of his Echani trademark white locks showed it.

"Explain yourself...now."

[Rayna Eclipse]

She wondered if he was some form of a bi-polar, at first he could simple and curious and then demanding. For example, the cantina when he sharply told her not to touch him, but other than that statement he was fine. Now the expected questions emerging from an unheralded battle royal, followed by an abrupt Explain now.

"Just calm down. There's no need to get angry." She replied in a tone as equally fierce as she understood his to be. The night skyline filled her gaze as questions of what to do next filled her mind. Then the rather big bruise on the man's head caught her attention and interrupted her thoughts.

"Sorry, stressful day. That barkeep hit you pretty good, didn't he?" She smiled a little in hopes of calming him down, even if just a little. "My name's Rayna, sorry for dragging you into all this."

[Ira Yahff]

The Echani's young face contorted in complete confusion. Instead of anger, he had become perplexed. Retracting back to the moment, he remembered the sudden fall into silence. Everything went quiet without a single indicator. Something had done him in, but even in his lull he could not conceive who. He had handled most of the minions, but somehow he had been denoted by a simple back-stab.

He had paid the bartender for a drink, and this was how he was re-payed. People at times sickened him, but the thought was more of a joke. A smirk broke his confused features and he gazed back down on the situation. Rayna...

"I'm Jehkran." The smirk still was pasted to his face, but now his hands were back in his pocket. Finally he was at ease. Looking upon the situation logically, they had managed to evade a complete decimation, though it still was a disastrous outing. He had only gone there for a few drinks and instead of a light buzz he got a bruise on the side of his head.

"So, what now? I'm not just going to leave after all that."

[Rayna Eclipse]

"Well." She paused, what was she to say? Spill the whole story and everything she knows to this guy she met less than an hour ago? He did help her out, he went along with her plan without hesitation. Still, she didn't wan tto drag him in any farther than he already was, for both his and her sake. "Well, what do you want then?"

[Ira Yahff]

The softened gaze of the young Echani went on. He was interested, curious, and his face showed it. Only moments ago he was on the floor, with a bartender carrying an unloaded blaster.

Yet Jehkran managed to survive, and the woman before him carried a certain nonchalance about the situation. Either she had faced such catastrophic altercations before, or she was an assassin. Neither would go without question, and Jehkran was certain he deserved an answer.

"So, your not going to tell me why you came here tonight?"

An eyebrow was uppercut to his forehead by the genuine innocence and pry of his shining orbs. They glistened with a radiance that even the moon above could not rival. He wanted answers, and he would not stop before he attained them.

Hopefully the night would not end without something to remember.

"Just walk with me...Tell me what is going on." He requested, grabbing her hand before hauling her in the direction of his motel. Taking a quick glance back, he let his mind slip to the past before his words dropped. He remembered something.

"It's okay to touch me now."

Jehkran hoped to avoid any connotations with that, but at times it was inevitable. For some reason he felt at ease, unlike before. The escapade was nothing less than horrific, but with a little conversation he was at ease. Sometimes he was like that, but all introverts were weird.

[Rayna Eclipse]

"Alright." She said and trailed off. It wasn't that she didn't want to tell him, or was it? Over time she had learned to disagree with complications like this and had also learned to avoid them. She cursed the decisions made in the cantina, she could have, should have, thought of a better plan.

"I came because the man with the things beneath his eyes is connected to another guy who..." She didn't know how to explain it. As far as evidence was concerned there wasn't much. How do explain a hunch through the Force? "There's evidence that the main guy, he's a Falleen named Hziar, he's involved in something... bad." She was looking like a fool, when it came to explaining things she was horrible. She was waving her hands in front of her trying to look for the words that would explain this properly. "Bad as in slave trade."

She looked at him to detect whether or not he believed her. She couldn't tell. "Any other questions?"

[Ira Yahff]

...Slave trade

Jehkran's eyes observed Rayna as she trailed into a question. He heard her, but his eye did not take to the response. Instead they simply surveyed her body, scrutinizing her movements. She was feminine, and seemingly frail. There was an elegance about her, but the sense was not that of a warrior.

Instead she carried a stance of one in hierachy. Albeit not completely calm, and collective, she held a reserve that people of class could only attain. Jehkran had met many like her, or so he believed. None before took the role as hero.

"Slave trade? So, your putting your neck out there for some slaves?" Jehkran's eyebrow quivered with excitement, though his voice played the contrast in all it's controlled glory. "What are you, an activist or something?"

He smiled at that. In no way did she carry the traits of any activist he had met before. The extreme persona just was not present, she seemed far more centered than that. Pocketing his hands, he glanced to the side before he crossed the street. They were only a few blocks away from the hotel. Hopefully he could get something to full his stomach. The young Echani was running on empty tank.

[Rayna Eclipse]

"No." She responded sternly. She was never really fond of activists, too much complaining and not enough action. She searched for the words to explain her actions against the slave trade without having to tell the complete truth. Where does she start, the part where she infiltrated the Sith Order on Korriban? Or maybe the shameful bit about her time on Corellia would be a good start. How does one come out and say 'I'm a Jedi.'

"It's a long story." She started. "A very boring one at that." And finished in hopes of quelling that adventurous spirit she felt rise in him, though she knew it was no use. "Well, I think I've taken enough of your time." she said as the crossed another street. "My business isn't quite finished here, my night isn't quite over."

She stopped the walking and faced the man she had only known for a moment of a lifetime. "Thanks for your help this evening, and put some ice on that bump when you reach your hotel." She smiled a little, knowing full well that he departure was abrupt and perhaps rude in a a certian light; but what needed to be done, needed to be done. Her mind started lingering onto her next task on the planet. "It was nice meeting you Jehkran. Perhaps we'll run into each other another time."

[Ira Yahff]

She was gone. Heading off down the street, he could only blink in confusion. The night shun it's dark, adventurous eye down on him, but he ignored it. All the night had told was enough, and the tale ended there. Though bruise on his head ached, it was not the closer. Instead it was her voice, her tone, her mannerism.

Time had turned him into a pest, and more questions flew from his mouth than need be. She evaded her questions, and eventually avoided him. Jehkran could only snarl at himself as he turned on his heel and scuffled home down the lonely streets.

Not much had changed since his wake that day, but many things were reestablished. Jehkran was genuinely interested on the vast stories the woman could tell, but instead he only attained an unhappy ending. Back to his room he would go, back to the life of an introvert loner.

People simply sucked in his book, and there were no room for anyone beside himself. Even the slightest attachment was agonizing. Moments later he was sprawled across the bed, a cold bag hanging off the side of his face. Soon the bruise would fade, and tomorrow the day's significance would go along with it. At least he hoped it would...

[Rayna Eclipse]

One last goal to achieve while on planet, this one was to be a little more violent. She glanced over her shoulder as Jehkran walked away but immediately extinguished all thoughts. She had to focus now. Much to her advantage, the destination was only a few blocks away. The target building was temporary housing for the slaves taken on planet and guarded by low-end battle droids and the occasional brain damaged bounty hunter. Security had been stepped up lately, she was the cause.

As buildings appeared and disappeared from her sight until finally the target filled her view. Not exactly what she was expecting, but the 'warehouses' she ran into never were. This building was very much run down, like all those surrounding it. An unlit sign in both huttese and basic gave it away as a closed down hotel. She stared up the floors looking for signs of life inside and found none. Through the Force she knew it was there, pleas for freedom drowned in a wave of drug induced tranquility. She felt more, the captors and perhaps a few droids, an unknown amount (she always had a hard time sensing non-living things).

The doors were obviously guarded, they always were, however, the window had worked for her a number of times. What made the window so effective was that they were dependably already opened, not all buildings were equipped with air conditioning after all.

Over time she had mastered the art of sneaking around without a sound, and as she grew closer to the main entrance, the alien voices of the guards grew louder and louder. Usually two sentient beings guarded the door, if you carried a low definition of sentient. She peered around the corner and saw two Gamorreans, she should have guessed fromt he squeals of the language. Attacking a Gamorrean at close range was always dangerous, even for a Jedi. She stepped out into the light with a smile.

"Sleep." She said quietly as they fell to the ground in a Force induced rest. Always the easy part. She took to the stairs, climbing several flights she found the floors occupied with battle droids, and apparently ones with poor sensory equipment. Start at the top and work the way down. She was at the top of the building now, waiting for the battle droids to turn around on their floor patrol. They turned their backs to her and in an instant she was running across the carpeted floor with Force induced speed and lightsaber hilt in hand. It ignited on the upward arc and sliced through the body of the droid, landing her a step ahead of the other droid and staring at another halved body.

Two more droids came clanking around the corner, blasters firing the moment they saw her. Deflecting a blaster bolt was easy, for a Jedi, but deflecting to the sender was very difficult. Another skill she had yet to master. She charged on, using her ligthsaber as a shield and made sure the two droids met the same end as their counterparts.

She pushed on a locked door and with a burst of enhanced strength she broke past the lock. Inside the room she found a trio of young girls, triplets. For a moment she was confused, in the other 'warehouses' she had stormed she never found anyone so young, these girls looked barely old enough to drive a speeder.

"Girls." She said in a quiet voice as she spotted signs on their skin of spice use, she wasn't sure she wanted to know the story. Sometimes it was forced upon the slaves to fulfill an agreement with spice dealers, the high addiction kept them coming back and therefore within control. "I'm going to get you out of here."

"But we don't want to leave." One said and looked at her wih deep eyes.

"We like it here." Another said and stared at her as well.

Rayna was confused, something was wrong.

"And you should join us." The last said as the image of three girls reveled itself to be an illusion. It's projector sat where they once did, the last traces of the image being sucked into a lens on the side of its head. It wore a mask bearing a row of large, white smiling teeth. Two large white X's stood out from either side of each eye. It was a humaniod figure, the face was obviously a mask, the X-face was the sign of a group of bounty hunters, eight she believed. New to the scene, but growing in notoriety.

The man in the mask laughed, the eerie muffled noise emerging from a face with teeth, but no mouth. Rayna took a step back, igniting her lightsaber yet again.

"Cute." She said with an annoyed grin, but before she could do anything a large man bearing the same mask appeared behind her.

"Isn't it?" He said and grabbed her wrist, squeezing tightly on her tendons to force her to drop the hilt. She responded with a telekinetic blast, forcing him to release and giving her a moment to exit. She ducked out through the door as the appearance of the next smiling man appeared at the stairway.

"Afraid you've run into a trap, dear." He said, tendrils hanging down from the back of his head and over his shoulders.

"With nowhere to go." Another said from behind her now, wires sticking out above his head.

Her eyes scanned for a quick exit, she counted four smiling men. That left four more and she knew they could be anywhere. Nadja, her ally in all this, warned her of possible traps and also reserved herself in the event of one. All it took was a loud shout through the Force. Help! She called through the Force to any Force sensitive person in the hemisphere, the only one she was aware of that would recognize call from Rayna was Nadja. Perhaps she was going to get more than she bargained for.

[Ira Yahff]

Help!

The bed springs screeched with activity as the sleeper suddenly awoke. It had been an hour or less since the Echani's body succumb to it's tire, but the respite was destined to be shortened. Jehkran had certainly needed the sleep. He had been up for weeks on end, turning his mind inward in hopes of understanding the blanks in his head.

Yet more came, and it could only seem worst with the call of help. Jehkran had heard the voice many times before in the day, but it's holder was not in sight and for good reason. The Echani had ran Rayna off, and in his seclusion he wished she would fade from his mind. People tended to be harder to forget than traffic signals, words and other things. He simply wished people were as meaningless so they could have no affect, no touch on his life.

It hurt when people left, and the pain even drove words to fall onto his ears.

"Hmm," he mused, his eyebrows dropping to his bridge as he showed his contemplation. The room was cold, barren and without a soul besides him. Jehkran could only survey his surroundings with complete confusion. However, words sounded so real, so extremely real that he could not simply go back to sleep.

Jumping from the uncomfortable bed, he headed to the nearest window. Not a soul was out on the streets besides the a few scattered bum in a nearby alley way. They all huddled around a some burning cu pa hide, hoping to gain some warmth in the vigor of the night.

Years had captured their dreams, and instead of reaching the goals that all kids saw in the future, they became nobodies. It hurt his eyes so, and with that coupled a long his weird hearing he was driven to the streets. There was no point in staying in the broken-down hotel. Only a nice walk on the streets could cure his mental dilemma.

[Rayna Eclipse]

And Eight was the magic number as all of the macabre smiling men had filled the hallway, each trying to get their own attack in against an overwhelmed Rayna. the smaller one with the wires coming from its head charged her but left its arm open to counter the move. She grabbed ahold of it and twisted, causing the body to twist with it. Using a Force push, she sent the masked thing sailing down the hallway into the larger of the men.

She saw her lightsaber now, through the legs of one man as she back-hand springed her feet into its masked face. There were two men of the eight who didn't look like the rest, the one carrying her lightsaber hilt wore white paint over its face and dark outlinings of the eye socket. So far this one had not attacked her, but rather stood there and smiled while watching the carnage.

She landed on her feet, both inches away from either side of the dazed man her feet had just met. She called upon the Force and pushed the last one that stood between her and Dark Eyes through the flimsy wall. Dark Eyes turned with a smile and a wink and took off running towards the end of the hallway. There was no where to go, unless... No. Whatever strength and physical fortitude Dark Eyes had, Rayna wanted some. Granted the walls were seriously flimsy, the man had literally leapt through it leaving only broken plaster and splintered plastic behind. Rayna followed suit, feeling fully confident that Dark Eyes had to land somewhere that she too could land, even with his apparent enhancements. After all she had the Force on her side.

In the air she saw the lower building that had served as a landing pad for Dark Eyes and she braced herself through the Force for her own. She tumbled into a roll and landed back on her feet to see Dark Eyes jamming her activated lightsaber into a power grid. "No!" She cried as she realized the flow of electricity from the grid would blow out the wiring in the hilt, destroy the crystals at worst. In the blinding light that followed her stolen lightsaber's injection into the powergrid, Rayna averted her eyes and found behind her, through the very hole she exited, the other seven were continuing the chase.

[Ira Yahff]

A cool breeze gathered over the land, blowing it's way a long. Jehkran felt little of it in his heavy jacket he had happily remembered to pack. Most places across the galaxy quickly shifted as the many moons glared down, and a jacket was always a necessity. However, his mind did not hang in such topics. Instead, he dwell on the yell, left without a claim.

Such awkward awakenings would bother even the most sane, but Jehkran felt truly disturbed. A rumble at his stomach trembled through, leaving his head hanging and his feet dragging. For hours he had walked a long the sidewalks of Nar Kreeta, not even taking a glance up for guidance. Colorful characters popped out through the moonlight night, from the poor to rich. Every last person indulged in the liveliness of Nar Kreeta's night life.

Jehkran had gotten used to the buzz of the habitat. The sounds of speeding swoops and speeders blasting past, a long with the muse of loose wired droids. All sort of characters spat a sound out or two, but as he treaded on the sounds began to dwindle and the feeling of solitude crept as a virus through his spine.

Finally his mind garnered the thought to take a glance about. Lifting his head, he steered his eyes from the lifeless streets to his side to the warehouse beside him. Albeit the sounds had drizzled off into the distance, he could feel the activity banging about at the worn down building. He had gotten far from home, and it would be best turn around.

[Rayna Eclipse]

Where in a black hole was her partner? Rayna wondered as she landed by the grid and retrieved the burnt out hilt of her lightsaber. Ducking the forceful swing of one of the masked men and darting beneath his arm, Rayna tried to move as quickly as possible using another's body as stepping stones to the air, giving her the leverage to land a swift kick to another's face.

Where is Dark Eyes? She wondered. She couldn't help but believe that he was always up to something that was going to take her down another notch. The temporary loss of her lightsaber was a devastating blow, Nadja was going to laugh at her when she found out Rayna lost her lightsaber in combat. Especially against, what she believed, were a group of jokes, but Rayna was quickly finding out to be false. Nadja would laugh if Rayna ever made it back from this battle to tell her.

Rayna sucked in a big breath of air as she finally had a moment to breathe and make another call for help. No matter how hard she hit these masked guys, they always seemed to get up. Extending herself through the Force she searched the mind of one of the men. Droids? Interesting. It would explain why they could take a Force enhanced kick to the head so well. So eight droids, all of which were taking the best of her attacks...

Help! She called out through the Force with added emphisis and a stronger hint of where she was.

[Ira Yahff]

Help!

Agony warped the young Echani's mind, wrapping it in a case of sheer pain. Throbs called for his hand, as his eyes squeezed in a winch of anguish. Grabbing at his skull, he pried heavily with his fingers for hope, but it was to no avail. Instead the echoes of the helpless call resonated in him, beeping through his very soul. A beacon shot itself through his concealed sight, and he dropped to a knee. Commanding a source of strength, he grabbed at the nearby gate. A slight push carried him up to his legs, calling for the gate as support. Leaning against it, a heave of air escaped his gritted teeth.

The distress still echoed in his head, but fell further into the depths of his memory. The moment had passed, and finally he could think. Assorting the instant, he prepared himself for his next move as he continued to breathe heavily. Albeit the anguish had left, the shock still remained and his adrenaline was in need of an ease. He grasped hard onto the gate, holding himself up as the misery overtook his buckling knees.

Jehkran glanced over his shoulder, hopelessly aiming his eyes for something of stronger support. The gate was weak, and his heavy body and heaves of air could no longer to sustained. Supplying his legs with all his will, he dragged his feet across the sidewalk. The Echani moved subtle, his movements seemingly inefficient as his mind raced to keep up with his shifting eyes. Somewhere there was someone to claim the voice that called out. Someone was out there.

I'm not insane, he thought, grabbing once more for the gate to keep his weaving body.

Staring at the fortress of mechanics, he analyzed the night's shine on the broken warehouse. The place would be nice refugee to think, especially in the haunt of Nar Kreeta's streets. With ease someone could take him out now. Planning with a muse, he took around the gate and trotted with his weighted steps to the warehouse. Hopefully no guards would be around the forgotten depot. In an instant he could be taken off, but at that point he didn't care.

"Just a few more steps," He murmured, his eyes attempting to pierce through the dark mist of the night.

[Rayna Eclipse]

She glared ahead at herself, her form being mimiced in the reflection of the glass... mocking her. It shattered as she tumbled through having jumped from the rooftop of the adjacent building and back into the warehouse. Rolling to her feet and continuing the momentum she ran down the hallway, the eight following close behind.

She had abandoned all hope of trying to combat them, not without her lightsaber. Fleeing closely behind that hope was that desperate anticipation that the cavalry would arrive soon. Whatever was stalling her partner had better be a huge ordeal. She burst through the doorway leading to the stairwell and jumped down each case as a plan formulated in her head. She was going to have to escape the warehouse, obviously, and her best chance of loosing the hunting masquerade was in the streets of Nar Kreeta.

Finally, the ground floor. The only roadblock between her and the maze of streets was a long stretched and wide hallway. She tore down the hallway with Force enhanced speed, not that it gave her a headstart against the already quick droids. Their mechanical muscles were just as fast as hers with the Force. Like dogs chasing a rabbit, the pursuit spilled into the hall as Rayna reached the door and bursting through it only to find the most remarkable surprise at the steps.

The white haired man from the cantina. Did he follow her? Was he part of this whole set up she had been wrapped up in? The eight seemed to ignore him as they poured out the entrance, catching Rayna off guard as she questioned the presence of the Echani. She was forced to fight again, this time in the open streets of Nar Kreeta and with an apparently weakened bystander.

As the eight began to attack in full force, Rayna did her best to avoid blows and use the numbers of the masked men against them. All the while she kept an eye on Jehkran, waiting for him to make a move in an already complex situation.

[Ira Yahff]

The droids danced about his body, as his eyes opened to peer at the surprise. Rayna had burst through the doors, fleeing from a field of enemies. Adversaries swarmed about her in an art of attack, leaving his weakened body only to stand still as an audience. Jehkran glared in confusion. Unable to sort the situation generally, his mind took to the specifics as he gazed on.

Help, he remembered. The call came strong, shouted, but resonated. The young Echani had heard the voice before, forcing his mind to go through his file of memories. Face after face flashed over the screen of his mind, but he was left uncertain until he dropped the screen and simply stared ahead.

"Rayna," He mused.

The shock built as he stumbled back, his weakened knees left on default. No longer did he have the absolute control and keen senses he once held earlier in the night. The pois ion of the insane shouts had destroyed his psyche. All he could do was contemplate on the affairs before him. Droids swung at flesh, and in return Rayna dodged. Without the necessary prowess to command from his fuel, he simply reached out helplessly. A hope struck in him as his arm outstretched, hoping that he could something.

Rayna was in trouble, and all he do was watched like a buffoon. Overcome with pain, he relied on the last fuel that pumped his heart. Demands called out over the stretch of his mind as his eyes pinched down in agony. Anguish left him to rely on only the unknown, the possibility, that he could help somehow.

In a unprovoked blow of the air, the droids were flung to the side. Jehkran saw none of it, falling limp as the command had been done.

[Rayna Eclipse]

That wasn't her doing. She cut her thoughts off and moved quickly to the recently fallen Jehkran, scooping him up without stopping. The droids had all been swept aside but were hardly out of the fight, it took them only seconds to get back on their feet again and give chase to the fleeing Rayna and the man she carried in her arms.

The interesting thing about the planets and moons of Hutt space was their lack of coordination in the cities. Each city sprawled across the land like a living organism. One day a street could be there and the next day it could be swept up by a make shift shanty created by the poor of Nar Kreeta. Getting lost was hardly a goal for Rayna, she could barely help it. However, making sure the macabre droids got caught up in the city's web of streets was a different matter entirely.

The best possible solution to the matter was an illusion, though she had reservations about the success of such a move; droids had other ways of detecting something besides their visual receptors. It was worth a try. Three figures split from the one running through a narrow street and each went its own direction, the illusion maker took to the right, down a filthy street that lead down a gradient to another intersection. Reaching out with the Force she detected a mild confusion, though not from any of the droids but rather Dark Eyes who was standing at the junction point. Perhaps not all of them were droids after all, or at least one wasn't.

At last, a point of vulnerbility revealed itself, why hadn't she detected it before? Musings for another time. She zeroed in on the mind of Dark Eyes and forced his thoughts to cross with each other and merge. A temporary migraine and days of trying to resolve which memory belonged where was in store for the man who destroyed her lightsaber.

Splitting off to another corridor, Rayna barely had time to notice that the three smiling droids chasing her had collapsed into the dirt. She smiled, outwitting an enemy that proved to be so difficult was satisfying. Though she believed the enemy to be down and out, giving her the narrow victory, sticking around wasn't an option.

---

"The whole ship went haywire. I can't explain what happened other than someone with a great knowledge of hacking managed to get inside of the computer." Nadja Storm said across to Rayna. Only moments ago had she been able to physically reach Rayna and relieve her of the burdens of Nar Kreeta. "I swear, when I find that Xau Ghin I'm going to kill him." The reference to the long aquainted tech friend of Nadja made her cringe.

"You still could have warned me." Rayna protested as she laid a warm, wet cloth over the forehead of Jehkran. "Through the Force I mean." Both had sworn off comms when it came to these types of missions, it was too easy for others to eavesdrop in the conversation.

"Yeah, well." Nadja said, throwing back a lock of red hair over her shoulder. "I was concerned about getting sucked in by the gravity of Nar Kreeta. So sue me."

Rayna sighed as she broke her stare at Jehkran's face. Silently she questioned whether she should have brought him on the ship. What did she know about his stay on Nar Kreeta? Other than the fact that he wasn't a permenant resident, he invited her to the hotel for some food. But who knew what he might have lying in the hotel room. Nothng valuable, she hoped.

"You never told me about your new boyfriend." Nadja said, taking the last of three steps from the cockpit to the common room floor. "I can't believe you'd treat boy so rough on the first date."

Rayna gave Nadja a glare, there was no real point in correcting such stupidity, playful or not. "He's Force sensitive."

"And he didn't know it." Nadja shook her head. "One of those inaugural Force explosions... Gotta love it when that happens. Did he seem emotional?"

"Yeah." Rayna said, recalling the events outside the warehouse. "I think he picked up on my Force plea for help and got worried... plus the shock of the droids and myself in danger. Emotional, I think is the right word."

Nadja was torn between two avenues: The first involving pressuring Rayna into spilling her thoughts on why the white haired man would be emotional about her. The second seemed more important. "Emotion, the Force... that's Darkside stuff right there."

Rayna stared back at the sleeping man. She was becoming all too familiar with the Darkside, from infiltrating the Sith Order to her own brushes. "Yeah." She didn't want to talk about the Darkside. "Right, well... did you find out anything about those eight droids?"

"I haven't had the chance since you told me about them." Nadja said, picking up the hint. "Let's look into it."

Nadja lead the way to the rear of the common room where all the computers needed for research of the type were available. Rayna followed, but not without a final glance towards Jehkran. Another Force user now, somehow, the Force deemed it neccessary to land this in her lap, was it her duty to direct him and teach him? To Rayna, it seemed that way, it seemed like she might have an apprentice in the making.

[Ira Yahff]

A flutter ran his eyes, before they finally locked on with the world. From the realm of dreams, he opened into reality, feeling the thickness of the air that was previous taken away. In the open of his eyes, he forgot all he dreamed, and focused on the uneasiness that strolled through his body. A grogginess controlled his dry throat, his eyes beckoning for the first liquid substance he could find.

There was none in the peculiar room. However, it soon was clear that the drink would be a lower priority for the young Echani. The fact that he fell on steps and woke in a room provoked an observant peer about his surroundings.

"Where am I?" He mused.

[Nadja Storm]

"Welcome to the Halve Maen" Nadja said as she walked over to the bed where Jahkran lay. "I'm Nadja, a friend of Rayna's. She's, eh... taking a nap." She gestured to the door across the room where Rayna was preoccupied with her personal issues. "It'd be best not to disturb her right now." Changing the subject. "So, I heard you had a little, moment? What happened?"

OOC: It's the same person, but I'd rather get some usage out of this account and plus, you get a visual reference for the char, which, I suppose would have been helpful for the eight droid guys earlier.

[Ira Yahff]

Confuscion ran astray through his face, pushing his eyebrows, lowering his lips and sharpening his eyes. Much of the moment was unclear, and it was hard for the Echani to follow. Although his ears were open, he could not comprehend exactly how he had found himself on the ship.

A sigh escaped his mouth as he gave in, letting his eyes close and his features ease. Falling back into a relax, he reopened his soul's windows and stared up at the ceiling. The bed was comfortable, for the most part, so it was best to embrace the feel aslong as he could.

"I dont know what you are talking about," He said, his words broken with a blended undertone of sarcasm and curiousity.

"What episode are you talking about?" Finally he regarded Nadja, motioning his head along to catch a view of the woman's face.

[Nadja Storm]

He could be lying, or the memory could have never recorded. These little Force explosions could work either way. She would grant him the benefit of the doubt.

"You remember the droids, don't you?" She asked as she picked something up from a ledge by the bed. "Creepy little buggers with masks?" She walked took it to another ledge. "Rayna was under attack and boom, you show up outside the building and knock them all over with a telekinetic wave. Rayna saves you, I save her and here we are." Now her tone changed to something a little more sharp. 'If you don't remember that, then what do you remember?" Then nicely. "Can I get you some water?"

[Ira Yahff]

Jehkran listened, his ears tingling as the images flashed over his sight. He remembered, but he did not flinch or blink. Instead, he continued he gaze on her, carefully letting his eyes drift off into space. Examining the ceiling, he awaited a break in conversation to finally revitilize himself.

When he returned from his dream, he recognized only the word water. A dryness perched itself in his throat as the query escaped the woman's mouth with such ease, and eloquence. She suddenly shifted his memorable affairs to a curteous claim.

He liked that.

"Definately," He said. "...And I remember...I remember all of it."

[Nadja Storm]

The sound of rushing water filled the otherwise silent room, then Jehkran continued as Nadja brought the glass to him, setting it on the small table next to him. Now, all of a sudden he remembered all of it. She didn't know what to think of the mind of this disorganized man other than she would prefer it if he'd decide what he knew and what he didn't.

"So... What do you know about the Force?" She asked, but did not sit quite yet. "Darkside, Lightside, Anakin Skywalker, Darth Vader." She smiled. Everyone knew the big stuff through legend and word of mouth. Hopefully, for Jehkran's own sake, he knew a little bit more than the typical stuff.

[Ira Yahff]

"...Force?"

Jehkran was unfamiliar with such statements, and it showed when he spoke. The words was foreign, at least in such terms. A noun stood far from the verb he normally used to describe rapist and Zone-baller's activities. In the word set a discomfort that riddled his flesh, leaving a chill to drizzle over his spine as he lay on his back.

Staring at the ceiling he contemplated the word for a moment's time. Trying hopelessly to run his mind around the word, he listened as Nadja went on about Darth Vader, and an Anakin Skywalker. The former was the only title he had heard before, but that held more heralded strength and furry to encompass more than one handle.

Darth Vader was a man of power, and a minion of none. Throughout the underworld he had been claimed to be the darkest figure of them all, and even the slightest flinch could warrant a death in his presence. Jehkran was no scum, but he heard things and even to the public Darth Vader was not a man to be taken lightly.

Although death had taken him only months before, it was hard to resonate the fact that such a powerful being had ultimately lost his life. Somehow...somewhere, he was still alive.

"Are you talking about Jedi...hunters?"

[Nadja Storm]

"Eh, not quite." Perhaps he was in the dark more than she anticipated. "You know, the little tricks that Jedi do? The Sith, err... guys like Vader and Jedi do the same tricks. They do it with the Force."

The boy was clueless and she wasn't the one to explain these things properly. She decided to backtrack. "Remember knocking over the droids? That act, could only happen with the Force. You are Force sensitive." She paused to try and detect if he was following. "Do you feel angry?" A little too straightforward. "I mean, you're kind of a laid back guy, right?"

[Ira Yahff]

"No."

Jehkran understood, but it was weird. The Force was a subject taboo amidst those that heard, and foreign to others. Although many people lived during the reign of the Old Republic and their Jedi Order, times had changed. Public knowledge did not grasp the concept of the Jedi, nor did they respect them for their faded notoriety.

People easily forgot the numerous task they had taken during their existence. Instead the mass population's mind had been tampered with propaganda during the New Order, leaving the Galactic Empire with a iron grip around the galaxies neck. No longer did the Jedi's existence resonate.

"I'm thirsty." He said, grabbing the water and taking a quick gulp. "So...where is Rayna again?"

An eyebrow lifted in persistence, supporting his interest. "I got a feeling she knows more about this than you do."

Jehkran's mind backtracked to the moments of the droids. He remembered as his eyes went to a close and watched as Rayna went into combat. She contained an abundance of strength that no woman before he held. Rayna was beyond his imagination.

[Nadja Storm]

She grabbed the glass as he brought Rayna to the topic subject. Keeping his mind off Rayna was a priority, finding out about his likelyhood of falling towards the Darkside was a bonus.

"I got a feeling she knows more about this than you do." He said.

Or cares more. Nadja was just doing her a favor. "Yeah, probably." Nadja shrugged it off as the glass filled again with water. "Anyway, I've got some work to do on the ship. Water's over there." She pointed. "There's some food there too, nothing too exquisite though."

"Rayna will be about another two hours. She's ah," She paused. "Meditating. We get some holo channels out here, government news and propaganda programming." Propaganda programming was what she referred to the extremely politically slanted 'entertainment.' She wodnered if he was a big Imperial lover. Who cared. "So if you feel like wasting your time..."

She climbed up into the cockpit of the Halve Maen, grabbing a bucket of tools as she climbed the ladder. "So, make yourself comfortable." She said and disappeared the central console.

[Ira Yahff]

In a flutter of his eyes, Jehkran was gone. Pressed against the mattress, his body released all the tension that had come from the conversation. The gaze from above in the room layered his skin, shining on the even paleness that ran over his nerves and muscles underneath that did not stir. A pillow laid below his head, pushing his unkept silver hairs up as he lay motionless.

Underneath the covers of the sheets he had little on. Supposedly he had been undressed to some degree, and the only attire his body claimed was a shirt, socks and boxers. Besides the common wear for slumber, he was in an unsavory situation. Rarely did he wake, or sleep in a place he did not designate.

Yet, he felt comfortable. Next door was Rayna, and that was enough for him to feel at eased. She had managed to do that for him, but it was hard to put complete trust in her. However, such thoughts faded from his mind as his eyes clenched to a close. Parking the thoughts for his possible wake, he made a last hope in a muse...

"A better tomorrow," and he was gone.In a flutter of his eyes, Jehkran was gone. Pressed against the mattress, his body released all the tension that had come from the conversation. The gaze from above in the room layered his skin, shining on the even paleness that ran over his nerves and muscles underneath that did not stir. A pillow laid below his head, pushing his unkept silver hairs up as he lay motionless.

Underneath the covers of the sheets he had little on. Supposedly he had been undressed to some degree, and the only attire his body claimed was a shirt, socks and boxers. Besides the common wear for slumber, he was in an unsavory situation. Rarely did he wake, or sleep in a place he did not designate.

Yet, he felt comfortable. Next door was Rayna, and that was enough for him to feel at eased. She had managed to do that for him, but it was hard to put complete trust in her. However, such thoughts faded from his mind as his eyes clenched to a close. Parking the thoughts for his possible wake, he made a last hope in a muse...

"A better tomorrow," and he was gone.

[Rayna Eclipse]

She hated this part. Sitting up and waking out of a cold sleep she coughed until her lungs were sore and ended with an all out vomit. She knew this would happen, which was why she kept a pan next to her bed.

Was she done?

No. The urge to continue queezed in her stomach and climbed her esophagus though nothing came out. She stared into the goo contained in the pan, breathing heavily and deciphering her dinner through the mess. Deciding she was done, she set the pan on the little desk next to her bed and stood up. A hand on her head, she walked to the tiny private bathroom and glared into the mirror.

This needed to stop. She had been given a second chance at life, though she her first steps were trudging through filth. Darth Akhilleus had wiped her mind clean once, Nadja rescued her and released her to Coronet, Corellia and unexplicably unattended. Stupid and confused she fell into the wrong crowd, spice addiction and prostitution followed. Selling herself was easily kicked to the curb once Nadja came back, money was much more easily aquired as a co-pilot, though she rarely did anything having to do with piloting. Nadja gave her money and the job title was just to make her feel a little better. The spice addiction, however, was nearly impossible to desert.

She burst into another coughing fit, desperately hoping her stomach wouldn't see fit to vomit anymore. This needed to stop. She had to find a way out of the spice. At the tail end of every trip she said the same thing and made promises destined to shatter. For all the Force was worth, there were no tricks out of addiction.

The friction between her hand and face caused her face to distort as her head lowered towards the sink. She wiped her eyes and looked into the mirror. A tear formed in the corner of her eye, partially because of the pain, more so because of the embarressment. Once upon a time she one of the most diciplined Jedi the galaxy had ever seen. Once.

The sound of rushing water filled the little bathroom as she washed the dirt from her face, shoving all emotions connected with the spice to the back of her mind. Those droids had done a number on her, her back ached and a wrong twist in her ankle in her escape nagged her. Fragging Dark Eyes, she'd love to catch him in a dark alley.

Oh Sith-spit. Jehkran. She had almost forgot about him. She walked out of the tiny bathroom and grabbed a plain shirt off the back of a chair. How was he doing? She hoped Nadja hadn't said too much, or too little. She could barely trust the woman with these things to do them as Rayna would. The lock spun around on the door as Rayna activated the electronic controls, the door opened.

No Nadja, she was probably working on something in the cockpit. Jehkran was there, still laying down on the bed. He didn't seem like he was sleeping, hopefully he took a long nap while she was occupied. She stepped out of her room to get a better look at the man. He looked groggy, perhaps he'd been sleeping the whole eight hours she was in her room.

"Hey." She said softly, her voice a bit raspy. "How are you feeling?"

[Ira Yahff]

"Hey"

Jehkran's eyes parted once more. The slits that faintly resembled eyes were pressured by his heavy lids as he tried desperately to capture the world around him. All he could rely on were his other senses. Sound of her soft force echoed through her ear, and the rasp which played as an undertone provided a melancholy and real feel to the moment.

Even the fabric of the sheets which embraced his being supplied the necessary rough edge to wake him to the real world around him.

"How are you feeling?" She asked. A smile urged his lips, but the weakness of his groggy body disallowed any motion. Instead he simply stared off into space, willing his limbs by the second to propel himself up.

Soon his mind took full control and his body was slowly being edged into a sit a top the fine mattress. A smirk accompanied him on his lull trip out of prone. Running his eyes off through his slits, he gazed to the side at the standing woman. Rayna carried the soft voice which woke him, but despite the rasp that crinkled over his throat he could not be happier. She was a nice image to wake up to.

"Fine, just fine. What about you?" He asked, his slit eyes become more intentional now as he gave her a curious look. She didn't look all that well.

"You doin' alright?"

[Rayna Eclipse]

"Yeah." She said. "Those droids really gave me a run for my credits. I'm a bit worn out." She half-smiled. "Did you eat?" She asked as she turned to counter top. "We've got some fruit." She examined a muja for flaws, this one would do. "There's more around if you're not feeling like fruit."

"Rise and shine." Nadja intruded blandly as she climbed back out of the cockpit.

"Did you get much sleep?" Rayna asked.

Nadja grumbled incoherantly and shook her head.

"You'll live." Rayna assured her. "Do we have any clothing for Jehkran?"

"What he came in should be clean by now." She said as Rayna bit into the juicy fruit, reaching for a hand cloth. Nadja fixed her gaze towards him. "Unless you're into woman's clothes."

[Ira Yahff]

"Maybe." Jehkran attempted a chuckle, but the rasp of his throat contorted it into a desperate plea for happiness. Allowing the laughter to ride off in the mist of the suddenly embarrassing moment, he grabbed onto his sheets and pulled them up.

Below he had very little clothes, and the slightest glance underneath would certainly further the groggy man's nerves. A pinch of anxiety coveted his face from an awoken man to curious one. Swallowing back at the spit that mustered in his throat as he with held speaking, he formulated a new statement in his mind.

"Why were those droids after you?" He unloaded. "And what is with this Force stuff?"

[Rayna Eclipse]

"Here we go." Nadja said as she headed tot he refresher. "i don't need to be a part of this conversation."

Rayna granted her a glance but said nothing as the woman passed by. Where was she to start with Jehkran, how does she explain it all? "I didn't recognize the droids, I had no idea they'd be there. My purpose on Nar Kreeta is twofold. My first goal was to gain information, you were there for that. The second was to liberate a warehouse of would-be slaves. For a time I've been tracking a slave trading ring and working to shut it down." She paused to elaborte. "These slaves are mostly girls destined for prostitution." She hoped he understood. In trying to explain her mission to few others it had always come out as silly. Hopping from place to place, rescuing girls who had nowhere to go. 'Where do you take them?' People would ask, though not to imply these girls were better off where they were but what did Rayna know about directing lives? Who made her queen?

"They can't be left at the hands of these..." No, those who exchanged flesh like money were not people. "...monsters. The Force is my ally, I serve it and it aids and protects me." To reveal the next bit, implied as it was already, could cause her to be but an empty body at the hands of the Inquisorate. She stared into his eyes, she could trust him, she felt it. "I am a Jedi."

To explain that story could take eons. How she was unaffected by Palpatines purges, how she'd survived so long. "The Force is real, I am sensitive to its will and apparently so are you. For some reason the Force has made it so and found it fit for us to meet each other."

[Ira Yahff]

Jehkran noted the conversation, and it showed in his shivering eyes. A blink had not rolled them to a close as she spoke, even when his head motioned off to the side in reflection. In all the confusion a tear mustered from his body works, trickling down the side of his face unknowingly. Jehkran's mind was far from the situation at hand, in the clutches of the conversation.

"Jedi," he finally mused.

Jedi were the enemy to the Empire, and the Republic before it. Propaganda, or information as most called it, had led the galaxy to believe that the Jedi had been dealt the purge on it's own terms. It was not true, but Jehkran had known better than to question the Empire. Just a few trips around the galaxy to a few key points would foil the idol expectations and concepts of the New Order.

Although mystical figures of the past, Jedi did still carry a taste in many veterans of the Clone Wars. All those faces that saw the Outer Rim Sieges ravage the planets with sheer hatred, and watched as Jedi came to rescue. Such beliefs in the very soul of the native could not be struck out by insults, cover ups and stormtrooper conflicts. Jehkran had met them, talked to them, in his younger years and concealed their ideals. Even a whisper could lead to death in the harsh times that over ran the galaxy.

Finally an awkward smile pasted itself on Jehkran's face as he swung his head back around into focus for Rayna. Something told him to kiss her, but he drew back before he even leaned.

"Teach me."