Going Forth

[Serena Laran]

(My padawans are free to join in, just let me know if you're not going to be here. I won't leave it vague as to her companions for long)

Jedi Knight Serena Laran passed by a store full of knick-knacks, and ducked inside. She had never been to Cloud City before - the mining colony had not been such an axis of commerce before the Clone Wars. The last Baron Administrator, someone named 'Calrissian,' had done wonders for the floating city.

After he had left, the Imperials had taken over. Although they'd left a civillian in charge of the day to day operations, the garrison of Imperial soldiers was still very much present. They weren't looking for Jedi, however. No one expected to find any.

The storefront was dark, and the shelves were crammed full of dusty paraphernalia. Serena peered over a collection of incenses, reaching out to gingerly separate one package from its jacket of cobwebs for a closer look.

"Can I help ya?" growled a voice, and the Jedi looked up to see the store's alien proprietor looking over at her. In the semi-darkness of the store it was difficult to see what species he was. "Gotta sale on incense..."

"Ah, I am just looking, thank you." She replaced the incense and wandered a little further before something caught her eye. The back room was separated from the storefront by a beaded curtain. And beside the flashy and jingly beads there were seven braids of human hair varying in length from four to twelve inches, tied together at the base and fastened to the wall. She narrowed her eyes briefly, and looked at the alien who was munching on a bit of dried lichen.

He grinned, his large eyelids nearly covering his small eyes. "Name's Skeez." He slurped at a bit of fungus that he pulled from the bowl in his hands, and then he pointed to another section of the shop. "Got some krayt knuckles. Good for what ails ya."

Serena nodded non-committedly, and tried not to think about the padawan braids that were tacked to the wall like trophies. The Coway watched her browse through those strange lidded eyes, and she began to feel uncomfortable.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan's eyes flitted around the shop. For the most part, the place had a distinct old, dusty fragrance from the various nick-knacks. Most hadn't been touched in years. He wasn't about to leave his fingerprints around, either, so he held his arms behind his back.

The shopkeeper troubled him. He had no idea what species the shopkeeper was. As a longtime resident of Nar-Shadda it was almost a point of pride to know nearly all of the sentient species in the galaxy. Still, it was nice to see some new scenery, even if it wasn't the forests they had planned on. He paused at the sight of the Padawan braids, and hmmmm'd noncommittally as he had at some of the other items in the shop. He had studied enough Jedi history to know what they were by now. Personally, he was glad that was one tradition Serena was not adhering to. He'd look silly with one.

The sapient followed Serena with a lidded stare until she disappeared behind Morgan's wiry but large frame and connected with Morgan's gaze, which bored through him in more than one way. The Coway only held it for a moment before turning away. Morgan's eyes lingered for a few seconds longer before hmmming at an old droid repair guide.

[Serena Laran]

Serena found the 'krayt dragon' knuckles. They were in small leather bags in an untidy pile on one of the shelves. The legendary krayt, a native of Tatooine if she wasn't mistaken, were supposed to be enormous lizard-like creatures. Loosening the thongs that held the pouch closed, the Jedi cautiously tipped the 'knuckles' into the palm of her hand.

They were small, and they were bones. One of them was even a knuckle bone, but it had belonged to a primate of some kind. The others looked like fragments of leg or arm bones, probably from the same lower primate. Serena resisted the urge to smile, carefully put the krayt bones back into their bag, and replaced it on the shelf.

Morgan was looking at a pile of droid parts, and Serena was glad that Rhianna and Wyl had gotten held up at the sweets store just down the street. Those braids...

They could have been bought from a hunter, or gifts to the store owner... there were any number of senarios that could lead to the macabre display. Serena turned down another cramped aisle between shelving units, and nearly bumped right into the shopkeeper. Bald and grey skinned, with a scraggly fuzz that made it look like he was suffering from some sort of mold infestation, Skeez smiled a no-lipped smile at her.

"Y'know," he wheezed, "You remind me of someone..."

Serena took a slow breath, keeping her calm and looking at the Coway. "I would remember you. We have not met before." She took a step backwards and bumped lightly into the shelf behind her, the only outward indication of the thrumming sensation of worry that she sought the Force to overcome.

"No, no, yer prolly right," Skeez agreed, but the light of interest still was there in his small, deep set eyes. He moved forward a bit, as though he was going to take her by the arm, and Serena wished that Morgan was closer. Not that she couldn't take care of herself, but she couldn't take care of herself without making it obvious what she was.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan moved fast. Not hurried, or loud, but fast. He seemed to appear next to Serena. He held a droid coprocessor in his hand.

"I think I can get this talk to the navicomp, maybe cut down the jump times a bit." Morgan sounded enthusiastic and contemplative and the same time.

"Hey, how much?" He asked the shopkeeper, presenting the part between Serena and Skeez. Skeez backed away a little. He gingerly took the part from Morgan.

"Uh, I gotta check the list." Skeez muttered at the part.

"Hey, thanks."

[Serena Laran]

Thank you. Serena looked at Morgan, conveying her thoughts with her eyes. "I hope that isn't too expensive," she said instead. "Credits don't grow on trees, you know."

The Coway called from the front counter. "That coprocessor is forty-five credits, Imperial."

The Jedi raised an eyebrow at her tall padawan. She had no idea if that was a good price or not. "If that will do what you say it will, I have the money." They had left the relative safety of Vortex for a new home on Talasea, but the two ships that carried the Jedi, Serenity and a freighter, had not yet arrived at the new haven.

Serenity was an old Republic-style yacht, and although she'd had it completely overhauled over a year ago on Nar Shaddaa, the hyperdrive casing had cracked on the last jump. They'd limped together to the nearest system, Bespin, and were waiting for repairs to be completed before making their way to Talasea. Serena looked to the door, willing Rhianna and Wyl not to come inside looking for them.

[Morgan Evanar]

"No, it's not going to help." Morgan said quietly. "We'll pass, thanks." He called back to the counter. It wasn't an especially good price, either. Morgan didn't want to push the triple six's hyperdrive any harder than it had been pushed when Serena's old yacht had ducked under wing to make the jump. The Six had a good drive, but it wasn't designed to pull along another ship like that. A starfighter would have been no problem, but Serena's ship was too big. It pushed the field too far.

"We need a new drive casing, not a computer," He grumbled. "and it's not here."

[Wyl Staedtler]

Unfortunately for Serena, her will had nothing on an eight-year-old with a sugar high. A whooping cheer echoed dimly through the plate windows of the small shop, distant at first but increasing in volume at an alarming pace. There was a sudden sharp jangle of noise as the door flew open and the chimes hanging on the frame ricocheted off one another wildly.

Wyl burst into the store dramatically. He was sporting a cheshire grin and giggling like a loon. One hand clutched a bulging sack of sweets protectively; the other was busy ferrying said sweets into his sugar-ringed mouth.

He grinned at the sight of the two Jedi and bounded over eagerly.

"We raced, I won!" Wyl chirped, an expression of smug victory painting his young features. "They had gummy Ewoks! And chocolate covered everything! Look!"

The boy proudly thrust his bag of treats toward Morgan and Serena. He bounced from foot to foot, a wiry ball of vibrating energy, blue eyes darting back and forth to absorb the bric-a-brac...

... Until he glanced over his shoulder and spotted Skeez. Wyl let out a startled meep and spun to face the Coway, eyes growing impossibly wide. He didn't even realize he was backing up until he bumped against the others. The child's eyebrow's furrowed into a suspicious line and he tightened his grip on his candy, as though he didn't trust the alien not to try and pilfer the whole lot.

[Rhianna]

Racing behind Wyl with her own splurge for the day, a bag of dried and lightly sweetened fruit slices, Rhianna had caught the subtle unspoken warning to stay away. Wyl had gotten too far ahead of her, having rolled himself underneath a few peoples legs to win their little race. She wasn't able to stop him from tearing into the shop before her. The only thing she could do now was get in there as quickly as she could and try to keep him from making a bad situation worse with his all too honest childish exuberance.

The door jingled a second time, heralding her entrance. She shot Serena a quick, but discreet, look of apology before her eyes dropped to Wyl.

"Sorry.. The sugar makes little feet fast, apparently." Rhianna, tucked a few strands of hair behind her ears as she entered quietly. Though it didn't seem anything monumental had happened yet, the situation felt tense, as tightly strung as an old Tincéir instrument played around a campfire.

"We can wait outside for you to finish...?", she offered belatedly, glancing again at Wyl, hoping he could take a hint between mouthfuls..

[Serena Laran]

And then Wyl and Rhianna both came into the shop, Wyl sliding behind Morgan and eying the store owner suspiciously.

"We can wait outside for you to finish...?" said Rhianna, looking at Serena and then around the dusty shop.

"Oh, no, we are all done." Serena smiled, ruffling Wyl's hair and guiding him by a hand on the shoulder. "And what do we have here? Gummy Ewoks?" She trusted Morgan to make sure Rhianna left the store with them.

As the four walked out of the store, Skeez mumbled to himself, then followed them to the door, just to lock it behind them and turn the lit sign off.

[Morgan Evanar]

Rhianna had the bag of squishy candy. Morgan reached over and popped one in his mouth. He could probably eat the whole bag and not bat an eye. Wyl, on the other hand, was a bit more sensitive to what he ate. If left to his own devices, he'd probably have enough sugar to put a small rodent into diabetic shock. Morgan chewed thoughtfully, and decided he didn't like gummy Ewoks very much.

With the door sealed behind them, Wyl began to make wooshing noises, like a Cloud Car. Upon seeing one, he immediately decided he was going to fly one. Morgan remarked it would take some doing.

Rhianna and Wyl got a bit of a lead on Serena and Morgan.

"We're stuck, for at least two weeks." Morgan explained quietly. "We either get very lucky and have a new casing drop in our laps, or the whole hyperdrive system will need to be replaced. Either way..." Morgan finished with a shrug.

[Serena Laran]

Serena nodded, biting her lower lip. A bad habit she'd gotten into while they lived on Vortex. "Any word from the other three yet?" They'd sent an encrypted message to the three Jedi (Serena could not help but think of Adia as a Jedi) who had left for the Core, but had not heard anything as of this morning.

She stretched lightly, looking up at the spires of the towers around them. "We do not have the credits for a new system. At least..." Serena sighed, feeling the strain of the move heavy on her shoulders, even heavier since the weird encounter in the store they'd just left.

Suddenly she looked up, her head swiveling around. "I feel... a presence."

[James Prent]

Across the street a short dark-haired woman was sitting at a cafe, sipping a cup of caf in the sunlight.

[Ilias Nytrau]

He determined, then, that it would be his last day on Bespin for the trip. Jefsran Ollisen did not come to Cloud City often - he rarely had any business being there or time for any of the recreational pursuits that the city offered. It was through his own achievements that he was required to be here, the dull taskwork of instructing the medical staff at the Imperial clinic on new techniques and procedures. There was little reason that made sense as to why he had taken it upon himself to do the job, but even workaholics need breaks. Before this, he had only been here once or twice before, and there were honestly better places to take in a day's reprieve. But here? Here it was not likely he would encounter any colleagues or hands of higher power within the Empire. Here was a place he could retain some sense of his true self, even if only in the looseness of wandering thoughts, the occasional reaching out, searching about.

This morning, he sought out only the company of a cup of tea, a datapad, and the murmur of the passing foot passengers by the little café; it was out of the way. The datapad contained two or three research reports from the facilities on Coruscant, which he had been taking the time to review each morning during his absence, and taking direct calls from the head of one department or another should they deem it necessary to make such a contact. This morning, however, had been quiet. It was rare, but once in a while several projects at once would reach a certain stage or come to completion, and all that was remaining was the final paperwork. He had assumed that was the case, and made his way out in search of that cup of hot tea.

That search brought him to the little café, where he had been sitting for about an hour by this point, reading glasses poised midway up his nose - tea in one hand, datapad in the other, hmming and nodding to himself. It was here he allowed himself to relax and feel the currents, and be Ilias in vague moments. It was then that he felt it, that prickling that makes those who are sensitive sit up and take note.

Ilias merely shoved a barely noticeable look over the top of his datapad, and took a look around. He hadn't survived these many years by being obvious.

[Morgan Evanar]

"It will be another day before Adia is at the point of contact. I do have the money but it's so hidden away it will take me weeks to get it, and then we have to order a drive for this thing. I'm not optimistic." He said with a sigh. Truth be told, he could probably figure out how to get everything into the YV. If they were near Sluis Van or Corellia or any other shipyards, they could probably dig something up that would fit, but they were on the Ison corridor, and the only people on it were avoiding Imperial pickets on the Corellian Trade Spine.

"I feel... a presence." Morgan had learned he wasn't especially skilled about picking up "presence." At least not on purpose. He was about to ask if it was the presence of a 50 ton class hyperdrive. He felt rather snippy since he couldn't come up with a solution to the hyperdrive problem.

"Him or her?" He asked quietly and tried to keep any sarcasm out of his voice. He jerked a thumb at the woman and then the man at their respective tables in the crowded cafe.

[Serena Laran]

Him? Serena looked at the man Morgan indicated and shook her head. "No, the girl." She made eye contact with the dark haired female, widening her eyes slightly.

The girl flushed crimson immediately, and looked terrified. Not a great start. "She is using the Force." Serena folded her hands in front of her, tucking them into her sleeves as she did so. "I am going to get a cup of caf. Take Rhianna and Wyl to our hotel. We need to stay off the streets as much as possible..."

Morgan raised an eyebrow, struggling with his emotions deep inside. She could feel his frustration over the hyperdrive situation, and she laid a hand on his arm. "The Force has a way of working things out. I will be just a few minutes behind you."

He nodded quietly, corralling Wyl by the collar before the boy could barrel into a pair of Ugnaughts in his sugar induced high. Serena waved to Rhianna, and made her way into the café. They had already determined that if they were split up for any reason they would leave their commlinks in an active mode, so that they could track each other's locations if need be. She reached into her pocket and flicked hers on.

[James Prent]

James stared into her caf, watching the dark liquid swirl. She had disturbed the drink with the Force. And almost immediately a tall red haired woman had made eye contact with her from across the busy courtyard.

And now she was walking this way. Mortified and scared, James got up, trying to leave before the older woman could reach her table.

[Rhianna]

Over Wyl's head, Rhianna caught Serena wave as Morgan was walking toward them. Serena appeared intent on going for a cup of 'caf suddenly, but Rhianna knew that was probably just another ruse.

Rhianna had turned back to toward Morgan and Serena moments after she'd felt something buzz across her mind. It was like someone had called to her, without saying anything at all. Like a 'Hey you!' on the wind from some distant conversation. She couldn't explain it, or identify it, but it had caused her to turn around, slowly...

With a silent question in her gaze, she pulled Wyl closer to her as Morgan joined them. "Everything is ok?", she ask quietly..

[Serena Laran]

And the girl was fleeing. Serena put out one hand, both to block the girl and to show she meant no harm. "Please, I was wondering, can you tell me where to find the best cup of caf nearby?"

Flustered the girl stammered, "Ah, well, the Stand near by is pretty good, if ya like it strong." She clutched at the mug in her hands, still looking for an opening to flee.

Serena smiled gently, nodding. "Thank you." She kept her hand where it was, nearly touching the frightened girl's arm. A touch of the Force lent the girl some calm, and she relaxed a little. "I am new in the City, and looking for friends."

[Morgan Evanar]

"Well, someone used the Force and Serena is going to talk to them." Morgan shrugged. At least he had "guessed" who it was correctly.

"She's pretty skittish from the looks of things." He added, watching as Serena attempted to keep her from fleeing by being as nonthreatening as possible.

"Let's get back to the room."

"What's Serena doing?" Wyl asked.

"Trying to make a new friend. Maybe she'll catch up later."

[Wyl Staedtler]

"Oh." Wyl latched on to Rhianna's side and began to sway back and forth. On the upswing, he glanced over at Serena and the stranger. What did she need a new friend for? Serena had all of them, and strangers were dangerous.

A faint pressure lapped at the edge of his awareness briefly; Wyl squinted and stopped his pendulous movement. The boy's eyes widened and everything fell into place, Morgan's previous remark about a presence suddenly making sense. "Ohhhh."

Wyl winked lopsidedly at the pair. He was more than happy to truck along with them - the trip to Bespin had given them all a chance to relax together and as a result Wyl's devotion to Morgan and Rhianna was fast toppling towards hero worship. "Okay then. Can we get food first? I'm starving."

[James Prent]

"Friends?" She looked at her warily, unwilling to let her guard down though she felt a little calmer. "Well..."

The red haired woman looked so nice, and James felt herself trusting her despite herself. "You... you're..." She took a deep breath and opened herself up to the Force like Loklorien had taught her, and she looked at the other woman with new eyes.

The woman nodded, quietly. "Yes. We should go somewhere more private to talk."

"Um, okay," James said, suddenly shy.

[Rhianna]

"Okay then. Can we get food first? I'm starving."

"I could eat.", Rhianna agreed. Too many of Wyl's sweets had made her stomach ache. She needed to get something more substantial into her system or she would regret the little indulgence.

Ruffling Wyl on the head affectionately, she grinned down at him."What was it that smelled so good earlier? A barr-bah-kwoo beast vendor?"

When the little boy laughed at her slightly skewed pronunciation, reminding her that it was barbe-que, not kwoo, Rhianna squirmed a bit, but took it in stride. Basic had many strange words and sounds, she was still getting used to them all.

"Is it all right Morgan?", she smiled.

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan could always eat.

"We could grab something on the way back to the room. Barbeque works for me." He suggested.

"Yay!" Wyl said, and grabbed Morgan and Rhianna's hands. He towed them toward the open-aired vendor. Orange flames licked between slats on the grill, flavoring and roasting meat and vegetables of several varieties. Morgan opted for a whole stack of mixed shish-kebabs. Wyl wanted everything! but split half a well sauced bird with Rhianna, who also got mixed vegetables to share. They probably wouldn't eat everything, but Morgan (or Adia, wherever she was) could be counted on to take care of leftovers.

Wyl poked his finger in the bag and licked it.

"I wonder how they make the sauce." Wyl asked.
"It is a secret." Rhianna whispered to Wyl.
"I wanna know!"
"They'll never tell." Morgan grinned. "It's one of the mysteries of the universe. Cooks never give away their secrets, especially to customers."

[Rhianna]

"Never fear, Wyl. We'll figure this sauce out. It smells too good to remain a mystery.", Rhianna promised.

On the way back to the hotel, Rhianna spotted a shop she insisted they would have to visit later when they had more time. It was a glass and crystal merchant. There was a set of colored glass votive holders in the window that she felt very strongly about acquiring. One in each of the four primary elemental colors; green for earth, yellow for air, red for fire, and blue for water. They would be a nice addition to her meditations, she thought.

Her stomach gave a rumble. "We better hurry!", she grinned.

[Serena Laran]

The girl was still hesitant, but Serena knew that meeting out in the open like they were was bound to cause some tension. After all, a squad of stormtroopers was bound to walk by at any moment.

"Why don't you meet me at..." She pressed a piece of flimsy from their hotel into the girl's hand with her room number written on it. "Its better if we go separately."