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Getting to Know You 6/12/22
Tesara Anerin — 06/12/2022
(( @Haj and @Krizk )))
Krizk — 06/12/2022
Krizk sat quietly with his eyes transfixed on the door way, he knew they would have questions. But was this to be a barter, or an inquisition? Had he been better prepared he would have rigged explosives on the ship to better secure an escape route. It was; however, a necessary evil to walk into the lair of Demons.
@Haj
Haj — 06/12/2022
Haj takes a few minutes with @Princess Astra Korraay before returning to the medbay to speak with their latest foundling.
"You talked to him, yes? What is he like? What did he tell you? And what did you tell him about us?"
She softens her tone. "I'm sorry if I sound abrupt, Astra. I remember what happened the last time there were "intruders" on board. I don't want to endanger this ship or anyone, including me, by not learning from my previous mistakes. Anything you can tell me before I go in there would be helpful."
Princess Astra Korraay — 06/12/2022
" Haj he's hurt and just wants to rescue his Sun. He's no threat. I'm pretty sure he's been throw hell" She said gently.
@Haj
Haj — 06/12/2022
Haj took in Astra's very brief summary and tries not to pinch the bridge of her broken nose.
"Thank you for that assessment, Astra. But you didn't answer my questions. I'll ask again - What is he like? What did he tell you? And, most importantly, what did you tell him?"
She takes a breath. "If I don't know what you said, I could be caught in a lie if I say something different than you. I need to know what you told him so that we can be on the same page. Does that make sense?" She tries to soften her tone. The intruder has her rattled, and she doesn't want to take it out on Astra.
"I'll add a question to my list - why do you think he's no threat? Did you see his reactions? He may be injured, but he's taut as a bowstring. He called you and Tesara 'demons' for Frigg's sake! He's already got the excuse he needs to take us out. And that big damn shield of his will make him hard to hit. So, please, tell me what insight you've gleaned that makes you come to the conclusion he's no threat. Because, unless you convince me otherwise, I have no choice but to treat him as such."
@Princess Astra Korraay
Princess Astra Korraay — 06/12/2022
" Astrs takes a deep breath he is after the sith and the sith Queen because they took his sun and killed there royal family. I told him that My Master and I were got to speak with the Queen. I did not get very far because he is volatile. What I was thinking was the meeting with the sith Queen may be a good way to rescue his sun. We are not his enoie the sith are he came her looking for help. " She said.
@Haj
Haj — 06/12/2022
Haj closes her eyes, trying to reconcile "not a threat" with "volitile" and finding the cognitive dissonance chellenging. She must let it go and make her own assessment of this intruder.
Evenly and calmly, Haj says, "He lost his son during an an attack by the Sith, one that killed the royal family of his people? He then wandered for some unknown period of time, half dead from the attack, looking for someone to help him get revenge and came to us hoping he found an ally? Am I understanding this correctly? And you told him that you and Durro - someone he has called a demon and someone he doesn't know or has any reason to trust - are going to parlay with the same enemy that just upended his whole world?"
Haj takes a calming breath, letting it out slowly. She continues, her voice inflectionless and soft. "And you think that sending this volatile, revenge-bent, unknown entity to accompany "the demons" into the lair of the most powerful group of force users known to the galaxy - a group with absolutely no morals or scruples, I remind you - is a good way for him to rescue his son?"
Haj is trying to be gentle with Astra, even as she is trying to figure out how to unravel the Gordian knot before her and not let her own fears about the meeting with the Sith Queen blast the young Jedi in the face. Astra can feel the smallest ripples coming off Haj - fear of the intruder, fear of the meeting with the Queen, and her own uncertainty about now being responsible for the lives of another crew.
"Thank you for letting me know what you discussed with him, Astra. It helps," she puts her hand on Astra's bicep. "It really does. Now I know what to expect when I walk in there and talk to him. Can you think of anything else I should know before I do?"
@Princess Astra Korraay
Princess Astra Korraay — 06/12/2022
" First off not I was not thinking he go with us I was thinking he stay her and recover that perhaps Durro and I can either learn where his sun is or rescue maby nagoteact for the boy's release, but I have not told him any of that he volatile at the moment and ready to be attacked" She said.
" Just that you need to calm down, I am picking up something from you not sure what do you want to tell me?" She asked.
@Haj
Haj — 06/12/2022
Haj turns a flat stare on Astra, "Did you just tell me to 'calm down'?" she says, her voice cold and utterly devoid of emotion.
Haj reaches for the blaster on her hip and removes it from the holster. She hands it to Astra, butt first. "Please put this in the armory for me. I have my vibroblades, so I won't be going in unarmed. But there is no sense in aggravating the situation any further."
Saying nothing more, she turns around, unlocks the medbay door, and heads inside. Once there, she closes the door, not locking it this time so as to not obstruct her only way out, and leans against it. She keeps her hands free, in case she needs to go for the blades, but otherwise makes no move to encroach on the large man's space.
@Krizk
Krizk — 06/12/2022
"It seems you've decided then" The creature across from her sits up straight , "The Pneuma will not be coming will it?"
@Haj
Haj — 06/12/2022
Haj takes a moment to assess the Pac'cosh man for herself. His injuries are severe, and she would know. That he is as single-minded as he is speaks volumes about his physical prowess and his character. This man is one to watch ... and respect
"Krizk, is it? I'm Haj, temporarily in command of the Gungnir, the vessel onto which you have trespassed." She inclines her head to him. "I've decided nothing, save to speak to you myself for now. The woman with whom you wish to speak is a member of the crew. Once we have come to an understanding, I will bring your request to her and let her decide for herself whether or not she wishes to speak to you personally or through me."
Her tone is one neither offers falsehood, though he can tell that she speaks in vagaries, nor will accept any. There is compassion in her next, adding a softness to the gravitas.
"Firstly, I wish to offer you my sympathies at your losses. Astra told me that your son was among them. I can't imagine what you are going through." He can see a wetness gathering at the corners of her violet eyes, though it's quickly reabsorbed. "You believe he is still alive and that the woman who was defeated on the tarmac below knows where he is, is that correct?"
"Second, I wish to ensure that your wounds are well tended. I trust Handyman is doing, and will continue to do his best on that front. If you are willing to share the details, how, and how long ago, did you receive them? They look grave, but not new."
@Krizk
Krizk — 06/12/2022
As she spoke, Krizk seemed to lazily flick his forked tongue. His eyes never leaving her while she expressed her thoughts. "Haj" he said slowly as he committed the name to his memory. "It has been weeks since my son was taken. It is likely I have failed in both my charge and in my duties as a father."
Reaching behind his back, there was a snap, then another, and another as his armor sagged loosely upon his frame. "You have offered to treat my wounds and to at least consider what i have to say. So i will return your generosity in kind. " Removing the plating, she could see the extent of his injuries and how poorly they had been tended to, his side resembled the aftermath of what might as well as been a serrated vibro axe claiming its pound of flesh, marred by plasma burns.
"You put on a good front, but your scent tells me a different story. It makes me believe that you haven't had much battle experience leading others. Make sure you listen closely if you intend to lead. Someday, you will be forced to make a choice that will end the lives of those who choose to follow you. Most likely, you will even know this before you make that choice. Its easier than you think you know... to send others to their death. But its not as easy to look at yourself after, to know of the families you have broken, or of the vows taken by their children to someday kill you in return." He paused to let that sink in before he continued. "I've paid the price I am willing to give to end every one of those responsible for taking my family away from me. Rather than debating on my motives, or my threat to you. Know I would be better turned toward my goals. Either I will die with no consequence on your conscience. Or an effective means to an end, eliminating a mutual enemy that would not offer you a moments mercy.."
@Haj
Haj — 06/12/2022
Haj's eyes flick over the lifeform now so fully exposed before her. Durro's intention has spread even here, she thinks as she remembers his words - " to unburden ourselves and to help each other deal with burdens we should not be handling alone".
She watches as Handyman moves dispassionately over each wound, and how the patient doesn't appear to flinch when he does so.
"Honesty should be met with honesty if mutual respect is to be achieved. I appreciate yours and, as you said, return it in kind. Your insight is both astute and wise, and I thank you for it. But your judgement is clouded, and I can't believe I am about to say this," she says with a wry smile and a slight shake of her head, "by emotion. Even if you get the answers you seek from the Pneuma, throwing your life away, no matter the best of intentions, often accomplishes the opposite of what you desire."
She shifts slowly against the door, repositioning herself in a subtly more relaxed pose.
"You have stated your motives clearly enough. I believe that if you wanted to be a threat to me and mine, you could have, despite your injuries. Does that mean I trust you completely? No. But I trust your dedication to your goal of getting your son back .... and to the destruction of the Sith."
She cocks her head quizzically, as though contemplating something ... or to change her perspective on him. "If it is your intention to "learn" from one of my crew how to defeat the Sith, and I am not saying that's even a possibility yet, then I need to understand why you refer to those who would give you what you want as "demons" and to find out your intentions towards them. I may, one day, be forced to make a choice that will end the lives of those who choose to follow me. But today is not that day. How do I know that keeping you on board, that helping you accomplish your goal will not threaten ours?"
@Krizk
Krizk — 06/12/2022
"What word do you use to describe them?" he said as he turned to let the droid work. " They carry burning blades that cut through nearly anything I can think of and harness its power in their magics." Pausing to think about it, "There is no word I can think of that better describes such supernatural creatures."
@Haj
Haj — 06/12/2022
Haj is silent for several heartbeats. She contemplates his words, remembers her own awakening into this world, how incredible and alien it all seemed at first. Months ago, a lifetime ago, I awoke into the company of gods, she had told them just a few short hours ago. Wouldn't "demons" be the same thing … from a certain point of view?
"I don't lump them all together like that," she finally admits. "There is no one word that describes them in that way. Each one is different, though there are some similarities I'll grant you. I will also disabuse you of the word 'supernatural'. These beings are as natural as breathing." She says the last with a fond smile, her heartbeat slowing as she thinks of the amazing people that she has come to love. Then Vos flashes in her mind, as does the Sith bitch whose lightsaber she just gave to Durro, the one that Krizk saw defeated by Ashanti, and her emotions change again. "And just as varied," she finishes darkly.
She sighs, trying to center herself back to a place of calm, resolute, open, stability. She takes a step closer to him, moving to take a seat nearby. "Their weapons are specialized, nothing more. If you didn't know better, one would say the same of a blaster, no? It can fire burning projectiles, melting armor and flesh? Those who would wield such a weapon must be beyond understanding, demonic even. As for their magics ...", she trails off. "That is a conversation best left to one who understands it better than I. I would ask you to keep an open mind, as we will with you, as we learn each other's ways together. Can you agree to that, at least?"
@Krizk
Krizk — 06/12/2022
Krazk let out a long sigh, his expression softening as he closed his eyes.
With a stagger he braced against the medical table, " I'm tired Haj... all I have left is anger. My family is gone, I have failed in my duty to the Royals, and everything I have earned no longer matters.' His claws curling into fists screeched along as they left gouges on the table. "There is no choice here, If i had the ability to do things myself I would have ended her they day she was forced to withdraw." he scoffs looking away from her. "I cant even be grated death with dignity. You will have my word, I will not bring harm to your crewmates, but please.... please. Don't make me wait, I have no intention of surviving beyond the next few days."
(gotta head out for a while))
Krizk — 06/12/2022
@Haj
Haj — 06/12/2022
It was his "please". It tugged at her heart. "There is always a choice. You choose this way, for reasons that, as yet, make no sense. They will, I promise."
She knows not to reach out to touch him without his permission. She saw his reaction when Tesara tried. That doesn't stop her instinct to do so, though it does stop her impulse. "At least you have your anger … and your name. I had neither when I came to them."
She runs her hands over her braids, grazing the place where the scar hides under its coils. "You also have your word and that dignity you believe you will die without." She pauses briefly, giving the tired man a chance to really hear her.
"Here is my choice," she says rising from the seat. She puts her hands in the form of a triangle, point up, at her midsection. "I choose to take you at both," she intones formally.
Lowering her hands, she continues, "We have no place for you to bunk just yet. Please grant a little time for Handyman to tend you and for us to find a place for you to sleep. We have business to attend to as well that is none of yours. The wait won't be long, but it is necessary. As to the other, I will speak with the Pneuma. I can't compel her to act on your request, but I can plead your case. She may be willing, given the target you have in mind. You saw that they have history and she may be inclined to be generous." Haj snickers quietly at the thought. Ashanti is not known for her charitable spirit. That the target is Vos's officer, however, may sway her enough to assist as asked.
Seeing that the Pac'cosh has exceeded his reserves, Haj motions to Handyman to take over care of his patient. "Rest well," she says to Krizk as she turns towards the door. "I'll see to the accommodations. Handyman, please keep me apprised of our guest's condition and let me know when he's ready to be released."
@Krizk
Krizk — 06/12/2022
/end?
Haj — 06/12/2022
/end
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