I rubbed my hands over my face, ending with them threading through my hair, which to tell the truth was becoming more and more disheveled what with the manner in which all plans were being made...

...not to mention the sudden insertion of the kids into said affairs.

When my hands came back down it was to grab my drink and knock back a healthy shot. Then I slammed my glass on the table and turned back to Thea and Cel. My immediate reaction, of course, was to let them know in no uncertain terms that there was simply no place for kids where we were going, when I paused to reflect on the look I was getting from the little gal.

Those eyes, shining so bright with open curiosity... and something else. A deeper disappointment, ready to flare out once more; hadn't she already shown a tendency to go trotting off with whoever might just up and come down the pike, offering her candy and dangling a carrot in front of her nose? While I knew this would never happen aboard the Hornett, whose to say that she wouldn't turn away again, seeking something, someone else, if she felt betrayed again?

Gods knew she'd already been derailed from her life's goal too many times already.

I rubbed my face again, agonizing. Then I gave a short, definitive nod.

"Only the one, so far," I began as an aside to Thoran before I looked Thea straight in the eye and set out to be totally honest with her. The kids deserved that at least, I thought.

"Thea honey, yeah, I was going to leave you in safe hands here on Hornett, because we--"

I indicated Aaron and Thoran with a wave of my hand.

"--are going off on a little trip that might, in fact probably will, be very dangerous. We have two routes open to us: one involves confronting the Imperials, the other..."

I fumbled to a halt again, shaking my head at myself. How in the world does an adult tell a child that the Boogeyman is real?

"The other is a shortcut through a very dangerous place, one filled with terrible creatures and no light, and one whose people don't care if you're a kid or grown up.

"If they catch you, you're dead, and that's the simple truth."

I paused yet another moment, letting this sink in.

"Our eventual goal is to go to another world, Thoran's world, the Sith world, honey; Galen and Terrin and all our other friend are there and we want to bring them back here. We don't know if they're in danger there or not, but it could simply be that they can't leave because of the Imperials there blockading the planet.

"We're going to sneak in, find them, and get them out of there. I'm afraid it's going to be awfully dangerous, with a very low probability of success; do you honestly believe you are up to what might happen?

"Can't you understand why I would rather you two remain aboard Hornett, where you'd be out of danger? I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you."

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"I think that I can do it. I know that I'll be safest with you. And... if you go and something happens to you I'll never know about it. You'll never come back and I won't ever really know why. But if we both go... I've lost too many people that I've cared about already..."

The faces of her lost friends swam through her mind - Jeroc, Cella, Logan, Shayla, Loban - she couldn't fathom the thought of adding any more to that group.

"Besides Galen saved me a couple of times. The least I could do would be to help you help her once."

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"One, since when am I a kid, I know as much about surviving and the crime underworld as you do. I'm good with a blaster and odds are that I have a higher bounty then you."

I took a long drink from my Caff and slammed the mug on the table.

"Two, stop hidding things from me. I have seen just as many horrors as you and know how dangerous the galaxy is... don't sugar coat it because I'm younger then you."

"And three, what does it take to get good food around here... Is there not a place that serves a decent roasted katarn."

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The final slur against our host's cuisine and hospitality was the straw that broke the ronto's back, however.

"Are you quite finished, young lady?" I asked her sternly, cocking my head a little to regard her in a growing and extremely frosty silence.

A couple seconds ticked inexorably by in a silence broken only by the soft sounds as someone fidgeted, someone else took a swig of his drink. After a few moments more, I slid off my seat, helped Thea from hers and propelled Cel by a fatherly pull of one arm until she too was on her feet. Her sullen behavior notwithstanding, I then took her by the shoulder and forced her to face me.

"We are not hiding anything from you, Cel. This is something that has only just developed, something that we only now are discussing. While Thea has presented good reasoning on her part as to why she should be allowed in the rescue party, I'm not so certain that, while what you say might be true enough, the behaviors you tend to display would be something we'd need or wish to have with us. Besides, I haven't decided whether or not to allow either of you along yet; the invitation has yet to be extended."

I stood up, looked down at Cel. Then taking both kids by the arm I turned them toward the door into the establishment and gave their backs a gentle push.

"This place is not one for non-adults; Aaron, would you find someone who can take these two somewhere more appropriate for their age to find dinner and so on? Then I'd like to talk a little bit more about what we're going to be getting ourselves into.

"Thea, I'll comm you when we've come to a decision, but I do want you to know you've made some good points for us to consider."

With that I crossed my arms again, watched as Aaron lifted his comm to his lips and summoned a tech, who appeared at the door after just a few more seconds had passed and took both Thea and Cel into his hands.

"It won't be long, Thea," I called as the tech disappeared from the doorway with them. Sighing a little, I turned back to the others, slid back onto my seat, took another slam of my drink and plopped the empty glass back on the bar.

"Well?" I asked, although concerning specifically what and to exactly whom at that moment I really couldn't say.

[ 12-05-2006 08:31 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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Aaron trailed for a moment, considering. "She's rough and tumble and has alot of technical abilities. We could use her skills as well...but I worry about her attitude. Is she going to know when to trust us as being more experienced and more knowledgeable, or will she stick to her guns?"

He quieted frowning. "I guess I don't have any definite answer on what we should do."

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"I don't know either, Aaron," I sighed, leaning on one elbow as I twisted to face him.

"I mean, as much as it worries me, I'm in agreement with you about Thea. She's got every reason to come along and help; you've got to give her some credit at least; she did make herself a lightsaber after all. That's got to count for something; if she's got it in her to do that, and yeah, with all she's been through, and all the big n' baddie's she's faced--"

Yaoksi, you're going to have to sit down with her and ask her to start opening up about all that. She's never spoken much about it in anything but sweeping generalities and vague hints.

"--I think she could pull her weight if the going got tough. Besides, we've got Thoran here, who I'm sure would make it his number one priority to yank her away if the going got too tough for her; he's got all his Sithy hoo-doos to help protect her, right Thoran ol' buddy?"

Now I twisted the other way, clapped a friendly hand on Thoran's broad shoulder, the grip both friendly and ripe with unspoken meaning. Then I let the hand drop, and went back to nursing my drink.

"I don't know about Cel; that kid's too hard for her age. What we might face is either gonna crack her...

"...or let her come shining into her own, too. Thoran can help baby-sit her too, in case it's necessary; but honestly Aaron, I agree with you. That kid's got to learn to trust us; we can't afford to have any of her 'attitude' spilling out when and where it might backfire against us."

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Pausing, Aaron took a glance at his wrist chrono. "There is also the minor consideration, which may need to be rectified, that none of us have had any sleep in quite some time."

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"You're right." I stifled a yawn, pushed away the remainder of my drink, stretched and got to my feet.

"I think I'm going to give K'kihl a head's up-- you know the ol' Cricket won't be either willing or able to stay back here while we're out there with my-- er, I mean his--"

I rolled my eyes.

"--beloved ship."

A small smile quirked the corners of my lips; turning to the door, I called back over my shoulder.

"I'm going to contact him and then hit the hay; let me know when our final meeting is going to be before we take off. In the meantime, why don't you call that tech and pass along the word that the little gals get some shut-eye too..."

I paused in mid-step, turning on the spot to give Aaron a direct look.

"But don't let them know yet what's going on. That I think should wait until after we all get some rest, those kids especially, and Thea in particular. I don't care how much sleep she thinks she's had; that was healing sleep which is different from a few hours of good ol' shut-eye."

Nodding to Thoran, I took my leave, hastening to the hangar where my beautiful, beautiful Devil sat in all her brand-spanking new repaired and fully refurbished glory. Finding K'kihl, I quickly gave him the scoop; then not wanting to bother with going all the way back to the quarters Aaron had given me I simply headed to my bunk aboardship.

I was deep in sleep the moment my head hit the pillow.

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Saying nothing futher than that, Aaron departed the bar, headed for his quarters aboard the Hornett, and fell into the bed. Before he drifted off to sleep, however, something of minor importance--in the grad scheme of things, that is--pressed heavy on his mind. He reached for his commlink and opened the frequency to the Hornett's service department.

"Give the Hornett a thorough cleaning, and make sure everything is running at 110 percent," he ordered, not deigning to explain the reason for this request any further.

Only after gaining confirmation of this order did Aaron at last fall asleep.

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“Well, there’s nothing like a nice ‘see ya later’,” he said. “And that was certainly nothing like one. Of course, if anyone wanted to know what I think, I’m sure someone would ask. Of course, I’d say let the kids do their thing. Life’s too short to be coddled, and nobody learns from being safe all the time. Besides, we could use the fodder.”

Thoran thought for a moment, then shrugged.

“I was kidding about the fodder part. Mostly.”

He took a bite of roasted meat and looked back at the bartender.

“But they better not be treating me like some low member of this crew, because I’m not one. I’m a high ranking dignitary, and the only one who knows how to get their sorry butts to where they want to go. And I’m the one who came to them with the offer to help in the first place, so don’t just go running off and telling me to sleep.”

Thoran ate the last bite of his food and pushed his plate away from him.

“Well, I think that’s about enough of that. But maybe something more to drink. Perhaps something to keep me awake this time? I don’t ever intend to sleep again. In fact, know where I can get some good stim drugs? Any seedy decks on board?”

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She sat down and looked over at Link, "What do you think they are going to say? Will we get to go or are we stuck here waiting for them?"

Thea watched Link closely waiting for a response. Her food arrived much faster than she expected and she began to eat without taking her eyes off Link for more than a few seconds at a time. She was unsure what her friend was thinking and wanted to be paying full attention when she answered. She half heard the order to get some sleep come through and thought that she would just lay there awake the way she felt now.

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I stared off in the distance for the moment until one of the waiters came by.

"Go away I'm not hungry."

I turned back and faced Thea.

"I thougt that he was different from other smugglers... when he went out of his way to save you the lengths he went. I thought that he might be someone who would want me around for being me, not just for my skills, but all he wants to do is use them when he needs them. And now that he got to know me he feels the need to censor my world."

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[ 12-07-2006 05:43 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Thea Morgan ]

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I got up and started to lead the way back to the rooms, Thea might not be tired but for the longest time I have been sustained on ungodly amounts of caff.

"This world I'm from created me... A rejected child living among the dregges of society, to top it off one of the most despised and ignored species of the galaxy, a Ryn. He tries to protect me from the world that created me... seem fuitle."

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They reached thier rooms and went inside. Thea didn't bother to change and sat on her bed. She thought she might meditate a little before trying to sleep. There was too much running through her head at the moment and she doubted she would get any real rest otherwise.

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...but it's been my experience that it's better to face them than to go through life avoiding them..."

He trailed, holding up an empty ale mug, "...in more than just this way, of course. And as for the Captain, he'll treat you well, even if he's not the best at public relations. Take it from a member of the EE crew who is pretty low on the ladder."

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“I’d rather just shoot a stim pack,” he said. “I had a dream, you see. I had a – well, an experience. A really bad one. And this dream is just brutal, see? And if I go back to sleep, it will happen again. And that is something I do not want to have happen.”

Thoran noticed the dark liquid in the mug on the bar, brought there when the kids left.

“Hey,” he said. “That’s caf, right? I’ll take some of that, and keep it coming!”

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Thoran finished his drink in a gulp and pushed it to the bartender.

“Wow, know what? That stuff is really strong."

Feeling the stimulant of the drink working into him, Thoran stood shakily. His muscles began to relax, and his head felt heavy. He plopped back down.

"You sure this is a stim? Guess you never know how you're going to react to something, eh? Seems to have the opposite eff--"

Thoran yawned deeply and rested his chin in his hand, putting his elbow on the bar.

"Maybe you can just tell them to meet me here..."

The world swam away from the Sith as sleep finally caught up with him once again.

[ 12-18-2006 05:34 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Thoran ]

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I procedded to my bed and ripped all the covers and pillows from it tossing it into a corner and making a makeshift nest-bed. I took my blaster and switching it to kill placed it into the mess of covers and pillows ready to draw at any moment. Some habits die hard.

"I've been running long enough on caff, I need actual sleep."

With that I let the sleep take me.

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Aaron didn't realize how many times he'd hit the snooze on his chrono til an hour after it had first started going off. Finally floating to enough alertness to realize the time, he sat up with a jerk, rubbing his eyes to clear the sleep from them.

Wow, how long has it been since you've really slept??? he wondered to himself, truthfully unable to answer the question.

With a final stretch and yawn, Aaron clambered out of his bed, headed for the fresher and then to the shower. In fifteen minutes he emerged, fully clean and feeling much more awake. Another five and he was in a clean flightsuit, complete with a well-worn but clean pair of boots. Completing his attire with a blaster in the holster of his belt--a blaster which he was admittedly not the best at using--Aaron headed out and towards his own personal office, feeling the best place for everyone to talk was there, in privacy. Once he reached this location, he sent messages to Thoran's quarters, Yaoksi's quarters, and Thea and Cel's quarters, alerting them all that they would meet in his office, giving the former two parties directions to his office, and telling the latter two that a guard would be enroute in fifteen standard minutes to help them find their way. Only after that did he call a technician in to request that a good, strong pot of caf be brought in shortly.

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How so great a commotion, this one making can, when asleep he is, he couldn't help thinking as once again he reached out a chitinous arm to poke at the lump. It only garbled something unintelligible, then settled down into another series of snorts and grumbles.

K'kihl cocked his head in the other direction, exasperated.

"Yaoksi, Captain, waking up time it is," he announced with a clack of his mandibles.

Nothing.

Poking the lump somewhat more definitely, he tried again.

"Yaoksi, rising and shining you are now. Going we must be."

Holding aloft a steadily bleeping comm-link, he then shoved it smack into Yaoksi's ear, holding it there with cupped digits that only amplified the sound.

"Wakee wakee, Yaoksi..."

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"Arrgggh!!"

I shot upright in my bunk, coverlets flying, arms flailing as a great cacophony suddenly erupted in my ear. Somewhere along the line my eyes managed to open, showing me the blurry outline of K'kihl who, chitinous though he was, was still managing to turn his immobile features into one gigantic smirk.

I blinked, growing more irritated with each passing second as my gaze swept from his face to his neck, then his shoulder, following his arm up to where it was truncated by the side of my own face. It was only then that I realized that he was holding a comm against my ear, a comm that was delivering a simple message over and over.

Piqued, I shoved him away, letting my hand run down his retreating arm to snag the comm.

"I'll get it, buddy," I grumbled with a yawn, then swung my legs over the side of my bunk and sat up to pay proper attention to the message. It took three more replays before I was awake enough for the words to register, and to realize that I had almost hit my ol' cricketty pal.

Not that he would have minded; he wouldn't even have felt the blow...

"Ok, K'kihl; that was Aaron. We're to meet in his ready-- ok, okay! I"ll meet him in his ready room, you stay here and get the systems fired up and ready to go."

With another yawn I slid from my bunk, tottered to my fresher and did everything in my power to wake myself up. It took some doing, but finally I felt I could at least go out and face the universe in general without being decked by anyone or anything; donning a fresh pair of khakis, a loose shirt and an old but well broken-in nerf leather vest, I grabbed up the comm and shoved it in my pocket before heading out the hatch.

Leave it to my buddy there to keep on top of things! I smiled to myself as I hurried along, letting my fingers brush against the smooth metallic device in my pocket. After about ten minutes of wandering I found Aaron's ready room and walked on in, in spite of the funny look an assistant-cum-guard gave me.

"Here to see Aaron." I waved the comm-link. "Ahh, there he is--

"Aaron, I hope your coffee's hot and ready to drink. We'll be able to take off shortly; what's the scoop and where's the kids? Have you contacted them?"

I winced a little at my own last statement, for even as I spoke it I realized that I had never contacted Thea back as I promised I would. I held out the comm, dangled it between my fingers in Aaron's direction.

"Do I need to call them?" I asked.

[ 12-19-2006 08:26 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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Aaron paused, took another sip of caf. "Maybe you'd rather get Thea and Cel yourself?" he queried, looking down at his wrist chrono, "And I don't know where Lord Thoran is."

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"Nah," I finished over the rim of my cup.

"I'm gonna give that little gal every opportunity I can to let her take herself in her own hands, if you know what I mean--"

Even if I still keep a watchful eye out from afar...!

"I'm sure those two can find their way here with a tech in tow; you know that's just how it's gonna be, considering those two-- and especially Cel!"

Smiling, I took another swig, happy to note that it was that swig; you know, The One That Finally Wakes You Up. Pleasantly buzzed on the strong caffeine, I paced across Aaron's ready room to where a platter of yummy-looking pastries beckoned.

"Don't mind if I do; d'ya have any eggs?" I asked, turning back to him with a mouthful of sweet.

[ 12-19-2006 08:53 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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