The Morning After (open)

[Nathanial K'cansce]

It had been a very interesting night, fun and unforgettable. He had a very lavish dinner, some fine expensive spirits, and a lovely dance with the Princess Razielle. He mingled with some of the guests there, but there was something odd and nagging at the back of his mind while there. He felt odd and out of place, and silently thanked the Force for giving him the opportunity to leave when he did.

Apparently, Nathan had missed a lot of action that took place, or so the talk of the town had mentioned. No one was clear on the details, but the general gist was enough.

K'casnce got a call just after his dance with the Princess, saying a new shipment of raw ore was to be delivered early in the morning and that he had to be there to inspect it personally.

The morning's transactions went on without a hitch, giving Nathan some free time in the mid-afternoon to just wander about the city, window shopping, stopping in at different cafes and diners and experiencing the different foods and drinks Onderon had to offer.

Already it was evening, the light from Onderon's star beginning to fade away into a dark blue sky. And already, Nathan was tired. Every day since arriving on this planet, he had felt the pull of the Dark Side of the Force. In fact, that was one of the main reasons he was here. But ever since his first day he had kept his own dark aura hidden. It was taking its toll, the concentration to keep up his own little facade was great.

Deciding to take a breather, K'cansce stopped by a small news stand. He picked up a recent gossip mag, giving outlandish headlines of the other-worldly and other such nonsense, and sat down.

[Alexia Sturkov]

"Just bash him over the head, Roxy," The person beside Nathanial on the bench said aloud. Sitting there bext to him on a bench sat a woman with a similar magazine to the one that he held. She was obviously engrossed in whatever article she was reading, "He just wants your money," She said aloud again before flipping the page, her eyes bulging slightly in what? Fear? Anger? Pain? Surprise? Perhaps all four. Her piercing green eyes scanned rapidly over the page, moved on to the next, and abruptly stopped, heralding that she had reached the end of the article.

She looked up from the article and glanced over at Nathanial in surprise, as if she had only now realized he was sitting there, "Oh hello," She said as her surprise was covered over with a soft smile, "Can you believe that Roxy married that snake?" She was of course refering to the famous holodrama star Roxy LeBeau and her relationship with Bo Dren, her co-star in her latest holodrama "Whispers".

[Nathanial K'cansce]

"You know, I can't. I honestly don't think they look good together, acting or otherwise."

In fact, Nathan had no idea who or what this woman was talking about. One glance at the cover of the mag she was reading told him it had to be about some famous actor and actress pairing that seemed to be all the rage lately.

"It'll ruin her career, that's for sure," he said, turning the page of his own magazine. "It always does. One drops off the face of the galaxy, while the other rises in stardom."

Nothing interesting on this page. The next few were just as boring. Though the next one had something eye-pleasing. "...Royal Masquerade... unexplainable events... could have been caused by a Force user..." The article went on and on, telling of the strange events that occurred last night and had the city abuzz with rumors.

Most interesting.

"Hmm," Nate began to ponder out loud as he set his mag down beside the bench. He looked over at the women for the first time, and found that he did not recognize her at all.

In fact, how long had he been sharing this bench with her?

"They probably met at some celebrity ball on Corellia or something."

[Alexia Sturkov]

She nodded her head, "Yes. Everything grand takes place on Corellia these days. Pity I never get invited so such posh events," She concluded as she closed the magazine and set it down neatly on her lap, "But it seems that even quiet little Onderon is capable of wild parties," She had of course read several articles on the Royal Masquerade, more specifically reading about the conclusion that many reporters had come to in blaiming the strange occurances of the night on a force user. Any force users interested Alexia. It was a chance to either join in forced or give her Hunters something to practice with.

"Have you heard of the incident at the Masquerade?" She saw the recognition flash through the man's eyes, and she knew he had, "I thought all the force users had been wiped out by Emporer Palpatine and that brute Darth Vader. I find it hard to believe that one had just sprung up out of nowhere and landed itself in the middle of the Queen's ball," She laughed to herself and then extended her hand to the man, "Alexia Sturkov," She said with a smile on her rosy lips.

[Nathanial K'cansce]

He took her hand and nodded in greeting.

"Nathanial K'cansce. A pleasure," he said before responding in piece to each of her inquiries.

"I heard about what happened, yes. Makes me sad I had to leave the Ball early. As much fun as I had, I guessed I missed the rest. Heh."

Nate flagged down the vendor where he got the mag with barely a move of his arm; the man coming over and handing him that day's holo-feed.

"The purge, while mostly a success, could never totally wipe out every single Force user in the galaxy. Sure Vader and Palpatine were powerful, but do you think they could find and capture every single one that had potential in the Force?"

A smirk crossed his lips as he turned his focus from her to the news holo-feed resting in his palms. "Princess Razielle, newly crowned last night at her Royal Masquerade Ball last night, in serious condition after failed assassination attempt..." Quickly, he shut the holo-feed off, lost in thought about this new tid-bit of information. It was ironic how this occurred the day after the incident at the Ball. A moment passed between the two before he shook the thoughts from his mind, oblivious to the world.

"What brings you to Onderon? I've been living in Iziz City for the better part of a year now, and have not seen you before."

[Alexia Sturkov]

Why call it a purge if it didn't wipe everything out? Alexia wondered as she listened to the man, Nathanial she corrected herself. He seemed the intelligent sort, not one of the ill-minded brutes she was normally forced to interact with. She was about to answer the man when he snapped on a holo-feed on...

"Princess Razielle, newly crowned last night at her Royal Masquerade Ball last night, in serious condition after failed assassination attempt..."

Failed assassination perhaps, but it was clear that the Princess had been injured despite the assassin's failure to end her life. Yet the assassin may have succeeded in his mission if the Princess dies from her injuries. She found it all very interesting. She was a tad annoyed that Nathanial had turned the feed off before she could hear more, but it just meant she'd have to watch the news feed another time, alone preferably.

"I'm as tourist, you could say. I've come to Onderon for the sole purpose of shopping and sightseeing," She answered, "I've only been on Onderon for a few days."

[Nathanial K'cansce]

Nathan caught a small sense of doubt from Alexia about his definition of the Empire's purge. In all honesty, it was brilliant propaganda. And the best part about it, it was mostly true. Many of the Jedi had been slaughtered, and the Jedi Order thrown to the gutter. In essence, Jedi did not exist, nor did their order. Thus the great Jedi Purge. Force users dared not to call themselves Jedi anymore. Well, during the reign of the Emperor. Now, however...

"Looks like you'll be here longer than a few days. No doubt security will be tight."

He cursed inwardly to himself. That meant stricter guidelines and shipment checks on everything coming to and from Onderon. Meaning longer transactions. And possibly flagging an Imperial check fleet as a worst-case scenario. Not that his business was illegal, but the amount of money he was getting for his good, as well as his goods, might be ripe picking by greedy Imperialistic scum.

[Alexia Sturkov]

"Dammit," She swore under her breath. She had not considered what the increased security may cause. No doubt they would begin searching vessels and screening the passengers and crews before allowing a ship to leave. That complicated things incredibly. If they screened her then they would find a big nothing on whatever database they were using. Alexia didn't appear in any Impierla or other information database. And then there was the possible discovery of her Hunters, the scarlet clad body guards that she had brought with her. If she wished to avoid such a screening then she would have to wait until the crisis was over.

"You are correct, Mister K'cansce. I shant be leaving Onderon for a few days, if not weeks." It was going to be a boring wait indeed. She had already visited every major store and shop in the entirey of Iziz and seen most of the sights. How in the sevel levels of hell is she going to keep herself occupied without resorting to violence?

"What does one do for fun around here, seeing as I'm going to be here for awhile?"

[Nathanial K'cansce]

"This is it," Nate said, dryly. "Though the countryside is beautiful, it's also extremely dangerous. Most of the citizens stay within the city walls."

Closing his eyes, he leaned back against the bench, stretching out his back and neck. It had been a long day, and it would be an even longer week.

"I'm sure you'll be able to find something of interest here, at least for a week or two. There are many interesting people around you can get to know."

He felt something radiate from her. If it were a scent of the force, or just her emotions seeping through her skin, he knew not. But the hushed curse followed by her demeanor afterwards gave away a hint.

Was she hiding from someone? The increase in security, if she only did plan to stay a day or two, would certainly pose her a problem.

By now, the glow lamps had all turned on as the sun set beyond the horizon, giving way to a clear evening sky. He stood and glanced down at Alexia.

"If you don't have enough credits to stay out the week or however long in a hotel, I have an extra room you could use."

[Alexia Sturkov]

It all sounded utterly boring. She'd have to stir up a wild party or go outside the wall to ease her boredom. Either of those or she was going to explode outwardly, and the results would not be pretty. She knew how mentall unstable she was. She hid her insanity and darkness behind a pretty face and an attractive nature. So far it'd work like a charm.

And then she felt the oddest feeling, like something or someone was probing around in her mind. She subtely raised her mental shields and blocked the probe. She didn't know where it came from, nor did she look around to see if anyone looked guilty. Instead she acted like it never happened.

"If you don't have enough credits to stay out the week or however long in a hotel, I have an extra room you could use."

Well, after her shopping spree she was a little low on credits. Sure she could have just mind tricked her way to a free hotel room, but that might stir up trouble the next morning. And besides. It was a rather attractive man that was offering her a room. It would be rude, and perhaps suspicious, if she turned him down. Besides, it beats sleeping in her ship again. The Morning Star was designed as a troop carrier, not a luxury ship.

"Why, Mister K'cansce, that is quite a generous offer," She started, "But I don't think I could intrude..." Yes she could... "...Are you sure you are willing to put up with me for such an unknown amount of time? I really have no idea when I shall be leaving."

[Nathanial K'cansce]

"If push comes to shove, and I get annoyed with you, I'll just stick you on one of my trade transports out of here. Of course, with increased security and checks, that will be more of a hassle for you than for me," Nate said, a slight smirk tugging at his lips.

Whatever emotions were flowing from her before have all seemed to stop, for the time being. Just like a woman, he thought to himself. Or was it more than a female's natural instinct?

He shrugged.

"I'll show you where I live, then you can go and bring whatever it is you need. I'll give you an access card, since I won't be home throughout the days."

[Alexia Sturkov]

She returned his little smile with one of her own, "Very well. I shall accept your offer, Mister K'cansce," She truly did not like the throught of having to keep her actions even more secrative. He did say he would be gone most of the day, so that kept her out from under his nose until the evenings. At that point she would just have to play 'nice' and appear to me a good guest, "Where is it you live, Mister K'cansce?"