Ask Serenno Field Trip!!!1!!!1!1!!!1!

[Ailis Drast]

Ailis was walking alone behind the group, grumbling to herself about the unwelcome return to familiar scenery and ignoring the playful interactions between Altair and Vahl.

Ailis glanced up to catch Altair barely keeping a straight face as he joked at her. She gave him a frown as he reminded her exactly where she had just come from. "Sure, I'll give you a tour. If you look to your left you'll see a good alley where you can go fuck yourself." She tried to sound stern but couldn't keep up the facade and broke into her own grin and laugh as Altair scampered away. She hadn't noticed before but his uniform looked just as good from the back as it did from the front.

She caught up to the group, catching Tiamat's speeches on the variety of questions, some of her answers giving Ailis more questions of her own as they made their way through the crowded street to the attention of a great many stares.

"So does this gate always open to Taris, or did you just really want pizza here?" Ailis asked jokingly, starting to cheer up from the turn of events before panicking that she had just joked to a senior sith. "Uh, I mean... Do the gates only open to one location or can they be programmed to open up... anywhere?"

They made their way down into the pizzeria and Ailis couldn't deny the mouthwatering appeal of the place. Pizza was good. Not every field trip you got to go get pizza after walking through a hypergate, right? She gave Altair a smile as she walked past him holding the door and mouthed a silent thank you before taking her seat to look over the menu. She caught a glimpse of Altair slamming the door on Sol and pursed her lips a little. What was that about.

She didn't dwell long on the thought however as she decided to try something new off the menu, getting a loaded vegetarian pizza. Glancing back at Altair, she looked around the place before answering. "Well for one, I've never been here. Do you know how far we are from the Taris academy right now?" There was a few levels and quite a few miles of city between the little pizza joint and the academy. "But you're right," She grinned, the place smelled delicious, "This place is legit. I'll take you here again next time you're on Taris, if you want." She resisted the urge to glance over at Vahl as she said it, instead she looked down at her menu again and ordered a side of cheesy bread with blue cheese dip.

@Sreeya @Mr. Teatime @GABA @Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri walked shoulder to shoulder with Altair, naturally gravitating towards the Tiefling as they made their way towards the pizza joint. She flashed him a sideways smirk when he looked back at her, that expression growing a bit wider the longer she kept the Tiefling’s violet gaze. She felt the trail that came up to playfully tap her side, unable to help the way she giggled in response to that gesture. “Probably. But hey - just bein’ honest,” She said back at him, giving a playful shrug of her shoulders and returning the wink. “Not my fault you’re always lookin’ good.”

The half-Sephi glanced back over her shoulders at Ailis when Altair made his joke, watching the exchange between the two - unable to help but snicker as Altair moved ahead as if anticipating a backhand. “Ohh, I didn’t realize you were from Taris. Cool!” She said back to Ailis, offering a smirk. “Talk about kind of an anticlimactic field trip story, though.” She said with a playful edge, her grin tugging a bit wider before she looked ahead.

Vahliri turned back to look at Tiamat when the senior Sith spoke again, listening intently to the answer she received. The half-Sephi allowed Tiamat to answer the questions from others before she spoke up again, another question tugging at her mind. “So they can’t be opened remotely?” She asked, tilting her head to the side ever-so-slightly. “We arrived on Taris and the portal closed behind us, right? Is there a way to open that portal again from a distance, or do you need to have direct contact with the hypergate to activate it?”

She walked through the entrance to the pizzeria, flashing Altair a smile as the Tiefling held the door open for them. “Always a gentleman,” The half-Sephi said, giving him a nod as she passed. “Thank you,” Of course, Vahliri didn’t miss the way that Altair purposefully let the door slam in Sol’s face - immediately sparking the half-Sephi’s interest. What was that about? It was perhaps the first time she had seen the easygoing, chill Tiefling beefing and being petty with..anyone, before. She didn’t let her eyes linger for more than a split second before facing back ahead.

Taking a seat at the table, Vahliri picked up a menu - allowing her honeyed eyes to drift across the options. After a few moments of consideration, the half-Sephi opted for a pizza with chicken and roasted peppers and a side of garlic knots. She glanced up over the menu when Ailis spoke, blinking a few times. Her eyes narrowed the slightest bit for only a split second, but the half-Sephi decided not to say anything about it - instead opting to stare back at the menu in her hands for a few seconds more.

“Soo,” She finally looked over to Tiamat. “Why Taris?”

@Sreeya @Arcangel @GABA @Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

Soleil mostly stuck to listening as they walked along, being kind of inherently bad at verbal conversation. On the plus side, he got to pick up on the little back and forths better that way. He grinned a little hearing Tiamat's advice. It reminded him of something his mom used to say.

Hazel eyes flicked between Vahliri, Altair, and Ailis. Frowning warily and recalling how he'd seen Vahliri act before at parties, he wondered if there was going to be another fight. Maybe Tiamat's presence would stifle that kinda thing. Or it'd just been other circumstances, he had no idea.

Smells of pizza distracted him from that train of thought, the last person in their group to get to the door. And, apparently, the only one Altair didn't hold it open for, the glass door shutting and jingling loudly an inch from his face, just barely smacking the end of his nose. A hand left his pocket to push it open again, eyes rolling over a sarcastic smirk when Altair "apologized" without even looking at him.

He stepped into the pizza place and walked up to the menu, frowning as he checked his bag. Using smartpad text he ordered some medium chili garlic wings and two slices of mushroom pizza. He sat at the table in a free chair, cleaned his hands with a little bottle of sanitizer, and took out his sketch/notebook. The only one Sol could "talk" to didn't seem inclined, Altair was being rude, and Vahliri he was unsure about. So he went back to what he was already more used to.

Drawing stuff, pencil quietly scratching across the paper until the food got there. He was still listening to the questions and answers, looking up when Tiamat spoke, but the girls already covered what he wanted to know. Meanwhile, he worked on what the street portal had looked like when he glanced at it, starting with the basic lines.

@Sreeya @Arcangel @Altaris @GABA

 

[Maerae Verdan]

Despite her lackluster education, it seemed that Maerae had managed to get something right: Lord Tiamat had confirmed that her speculation on the uses of the hypergate were accurate. Her instructors had insisted that the only thing she was good for was brute force. That her future was bleak, and that she could only ever hope to be an enforcer to some no-name Sith Champion.

Maerae was determined to prove them wrong.

"This technology... how did the Empire start developing it? I-" Maerae stopped herself, hearing clear excitement in her own voice, and amending her tone to be professional and impassive, "I have... more questions than I can count, my Lord."

A dozen ran through her head currently: how long had the Empire been developing this, how far along was the technology, was the gate they passed through the biggest, how were they constructed, how did they work, why didn't more people use them.... Maerae knew she would never be intelligent enough to understand all those answers, but she wanted to ask anyhow.

Those were just the first few floating around in her mind, as well.

For now, the young acolyte pushed those thoughts away. Apparently they were going to a pizzeria. An odd choice, for six Sith in wildly different outfits. Plus... she didn't really know how often Sith went into public places, like diners, just to sit and eat. Relaxation wasn't something she was all that familiar with.

"Any recommendations?" Maerae asked, as she slid into her seat, "I haven't had pizza in... well, I don't know how long."

She actually did know: never. She'd never eaten pizza.

@GABA @Sreeya @Arcangel @Altaris @Mr. Teatime

 

[Darth Tiamat]

how did the Empire start developing it? I-

"The Empire did nothing." Tiamat's tone was significantly more firm and sharp, her brow narrowed in the annoyance that the acolyte's teachers knew who not to give the credit to its proper engineer: herself. The woman inhaled, her shoulders visibly relaxed as she realized her response might have been too much, "I found the keys, I deciphered the algorithms, reprinted the codes into a language that is understood by our computers today, and built the structures you see in the labs." she explained, pausing to inhale again, "Your questions are fine, even if you don't remember everything on this expedition, just remember, I, Tiamat, engineered these gates, this work is mine." she explained.

"It didn't need to be Taris, could have opened just about anywhere else. Exit points are fickle, just depends on what we can match with the greatest stability, meaning it may not be an exact location due to astro-physical waves of space, time, and whatever other particles are floating around. If we use just one gate, then we have the access point, the gate itself, and the exit point, the destination. Its also the least stable of jumping, especially if you want to just leave it open. However, we can set up two gates and allow for a continuous portal from one destination to the other. Those are more stable, safer." Tiamat explained and glanced over to Vahl who seemed very concerned about leaving. What was her hurry? Did she leave the curling iron on? Ripped her tight pants? Possible burrito evacuation?- because she would be out of luck since Ashla carried the space!Tums.

Inside, Tiamat sat at the table the acolytes were congregating, flipping through the menu, catching the gaze from Vahl to Ailis to Altair and back to the sephi-girl. An eyebrow slowly rose before looking back down at the greased up pamphlet, hearing Vahl jump back to the gates, "So why Taris?" Tiamat shrugged, "I was hungry." Though Ailis was partially correct in her joke earlier, just so happened, when she tested these coordinates years earlier, she came across the pizza place. A nice perk while working in the very least. "Plus, I didn't think you guys needed another expedition on survival or tomb raiding, or ghost killing."

A service droid rolled up to the table taking everyone's order and Tiamat leaned over to Maerae, pointing to a vegetable pizza on the menu, "You can't go wrong with this one." she said.

@Arcangel @Sreeya @Mr. Teatime @Vicc125 @Altaris

 

[Altair Din]

Altair was busy munching on his pizza and wings to really pick up on the simmering tension between Vahliri and Ailis. Thankfully the Mae or whatever chick kept the questions coming so Tiamat was distracted. Meanwhile his lips were covered with sauce and he went through an entire stack of napkins already, his fingers completely coated. The tiefling was having a grand old time just feasting and only half listening as their teacher rambled.

He crumpled up some napkins and wiped off his mouth, though his fingers were left wonderfully sticky with sauce. If his idol Emryc Thorne saw this, the man would have fainted. Altair loudly pulled from a straw in his pop cup and barely muffled a belch before turning to Tiamat, “Imma be real, I’m totally up for an adventure. I mean, look at this getup,” He pointed at his uniform, “This is meant for kickin’ in doors and bashing some faces in. Ghost killin’? Sign me up. Annabelle trynna square up with me on Korriban? Bet, Imma pop her in the face and send her to the afterlife. Chucky wanna waddle up to stab me in the shins? Imma stuff him back in his box and pop him in a garage sale.”

Altair grinned confidently before he picked up his drink again to loudly draw from it.


@GABA @Arcangel @Altaris @Mr. Teatime @Vicc125

 

[Soleil Altan]

Soleil was somewhere between paying attention to what Tiamat said and working on his drawing, missing most of what was going on between Vahliri and Ailis. That Tiamat'd done all that herself sounded impressive. The bit about exit points and connected points sounded important and he added those parts specifically next to his quick sketch. In shorthand.

At least, right up until the food arrived and he put the notebook safely away, face lighting up. <Is that stuff good?> he tried signing to Ailis, curious about the blue cheese dip. He eyed his pizza warily and swallowed two pills with the soda that came with it before eating, eating most of a slice before switching to wings.

They got worked through more slowly, still biting saucy meat from a drumstick when Altair got started about going on adventures. At first, Sol just agreed by nodding earnestly toward the Tiefling as he spoke. He was annoyed with him, but he was right. The silent acolyte himself loved going exploring or off on adventures, and it'd been what he expected from a hypergate. He'd never killed a ghost, but it sounded kinda fun to try.

Then Altair went on a tangent about punching ghosts. Sol grinned and begrudgingly half-suppressed a snort of laughter- while also accidentally crunching through bone in the wing he'd been eating. The tips of his ears edged toward red as he glanced at the other Sith, coughing softly. He chewed through it and gulped some soda. Deciding three wings and some pizza left was close enough to done, Sol pushed the remaining wings to the table's middle in case someone else wanted the rest, and went to the pizza shop's small bathroom.

Quick enough he'd be back with cleaned hands to rapidly speed-drawing something on a fresh page, tongue out between his teeth as he concentrated. Sol paid no mind to his just-washed fingers gathering pencil smudges. The image of the big Tiefling in a Sith uniform punting a haunted doll into a box was just too funny not to draw.

@GABA @Arcangel @Altaris @Sreeya @Vicc125

 

[Ailis Drast]

Ailis was a little disappointed as Altair began to dig into his wings without answering, though after thinking about it for a moment, she realized it really hadn't been framed as a question. Besides, the conversation between Maerae and the Sith scientist lady was much much more interesting than watching the tiefling get wing sauce all over his face and hands.

She rested her chin on her palm as she listened to the redhead sith start her tirade about how the Empire did nothing and the hypergates were her accomplishment and hers alone. Iiinteresting. Ailis thought to herself, glad to finally have a name to the person, and what a name. Ailis listened intently as Tiamat got into the hyperbabble of the science, the jargon of astrophysics that continued to elude her but she scratched down a couple words on her napkin to look up later. She didn't need to know exactly what the woman was talking about to recognize a brilliant and passionate mind when she met one however.

"Sound's like you're the brains of the operation." She said, cracking a small grin as she started to dig into her food, attacking the pizza and breadsticks and using a liberal amount of the bleu cheese dressing on both. She caught Sol signing to her, glancing at him warily before flashing a quick <Yeah. Duh.> at him before she returned to ignoring him in favor of her soda.

Just in time for a sticky fingered Altair to open his sauce smudged mouth to belch before launching into a tirade about how he was totally down for an adventure. He had a point and Ailis listened thoughtfully, drinking through her straw as Altair started ranting about ghosts and she had to choke back laughter and a bit of soda.

She coughed and her nose stung as she started to laugh a little. "Sorry, that was funny. The pizza is great and I think I could listen to you talk about astrophysics all day," She said with small grin to Tiamat with a sparkle in her eye before she continued, "But you gotta agree, with Sith drip like this we should be out there kicking butt and taking names." She said, pointing at herself, maerae, and Altair before throwing a quick, short little one two punch over her plate as she spoke. "We didn't exactly come dressed for a pizza date, well except for Vahl here." She grinned at the girl before turning her attention back to Tiamat. "Have you gone anywhere... Exciting! through the gates?" She asked as she settled back down in her seat.

@Sreeya @Mr. Teatime @Altaris @Vicc125 @GABA

 

[Darth Tempest]

After a few more moments, Vahliri finally set her menu back down onto the table - sliding the laminated piece of paper towards the center to stack with the other menus. She glanced up, watching with a smile as her order was brought out with the rest of the food - her nostrils filled with the delicious aroma of garlic and cheese. Though she asked her question of Tiamat, the half-Sephi didn’t hesitate to start digging into her own meal - going to down on a slice of the chicken-and-pepper topped pizza.

The half-Sephi couldn’t help but blink a few times as Tiamat started to go off on her tirade, going to great lengths to explain that the Hypergates were her accomplishment alone, and that the Empire had no hand in their development. Her chewing slowed a bit as she listened, followed by shooting Altair a slightly perturbed look - only to find the Tiefling absolutely bashing his wings. She proceeded to look back at Tiamat.

Ookkaaayyyy. Touchy subject.

Vahliri sat a bit straighted and nodded along when Tiamat finally turned to answer the question she had posed. Even if much of the astrophysics was over her head, the half-Sephi did her best to pay attention while simultaneously
taking bites out of her pizza slices - going through a few napkins as she repeatedly wiped the corners of her mouth with every bite.

She finally glanced towards Altair as the Tiefling loudly drew from his straw, followed by the barely muffled belch and the beginning of an impassioned tirade about punching ghosts. The half-Sephi couldn’t help the way her lips tugged upwards and her ears twitched, laughing through her nostrils while attempting to not choke on her food.

The half-Sephi drew from her straw, washing her food down with a bit of lemonade before she spoke. “I gotta agree with Altair - I’m all for some adventure right now.” Her honeyed eyes flicked over to Ailis next, narrowing ever-so-slightly as the fellow Acolyte made her comment about the half-Sephi’s attire.

“Hey,” The half-Sephi shrugged ever-so-slightly. “At least I actually look good in these date clothes.” Her eyes flicked up and down Ailis’ Sith attire with a thoroughly unimpressed expression before flicking back up and flashing the girl a wink.

Her attention flicked back to Tiamat. “That’s three in favor of some ghost-hunting. What do you say? Finish our food and make a trip to Korriban?”

@Sreeya @GABA @Arcangel @Mr. Teatime @Vicc125

 

[Maerae Verdan]

So the hypergates were Lord Tiamat's work, and exclusively her work. Not the Empire's. Maerae... didn't quite understand that. Everything the Sith did, they did for the Empire, right? Their purpose was to further the Empress's reach, was it not? So to hear Tiamat claim that the work on the hypergates belonged to her, and her alone, surprised the young acolyte.

But she wasn't foolish enough to question their chaperone, at least, not in front of the other acolytes. That would just undermine Lord Tiamat.

Maerae ordered the pizza that had been recommended to her, vegetarian. She didn't exactly avoid meat, but she supposed the option Tiamat had pointed out to her might be healthier. She did have to stay fit, after all. Especially since all she was really good for was hitting things really hard.

This was a chance to change that, though, wasn't it?

"I've had enough of dusty old tombs and wanton slaughter," she immediately thought of her mission with Cheriss, and felt anger settle in her heart once more, "they haven't taught me much."

Except how to kill efficiently. Which she supposed counted for something. Even so, she wanted more. Something with substance. Something that could actually serve the Empire. Maerae wanted to be able to offer more than a strong arm; she wanted to be Sith, not some dumb brute.

"My Lord, where... how would I begin to study your accomplishments with the hypergates? The science eludes me, but... I would like to learn."

@GABA @Sreeya @Mr. Teatime @Altaris @Arcangel

 

[Darth Tiamat]

A few of the acolytes seemed to take greater interest in her work, listening intently even with the arrival of their food. Though even with the in-depth science lesson, Altair made sure to remind her and everyone else of the more important things, the rule of cool. The tiefling made an emphasis on his garb and Ailis joined in, but Tiamat was more focused on the sudden interest of ghosts and tombs. Her eyes widened slightly as Altair gave examples of ghost dolls and she quickly stuffed a breadstick in her mouth to avoid giving an answer right away.

As the majority of the group wanted to know if there were any exciting places they could jump to, though Mae seemed to be more interested in jumping in on her work, “Finish your training at the academy.” she instructed after swallowing her mouthful of food. She quickly dived into her wings, “I, no, we’re not going to Korriban.” She said, “It completely dries out my skin and hair and I’m bathing in moisturizer for a week.” Tia sighed, hopefully getting them out of her being a chaperone there.

“I did go to this one place on Dantooine, pretty sure its haunted.” She explained, she knew it was just a dead city of an ancient colony, despite the history being a bit absent on how they all disappeared, she didn’t get the jumps and startles like she did with Farmer Gus. It would be tolerable, but hopefully given their eagerness for exploration, it would distract them from wanting to go to real haunted places, “An old colony was having difficulties with its populace, claimed women were being possessed and went as far as to burn their bodies alive to rid of whatever this infliction was.” She explained, looking around the table as she emptied her basket of wings, sucking the sauce off her fingers, “When the Republic arrived with supplies and to check in, no one remained in the colony.”

@Arcangel @Sreeya @Mr. Teatime @Vicc125 @Altaris

 

[Altair Din]

Altair couldn’t help but snort a suppressed laugh as Maerae’s blatant brownnosing got her absolutely nowhere. The tiefling finished up his meal and wiped his face off, feeling more than satisfied with a full belly. He looked up just in time to catch the volleys between Ailis and Vahl, the sight baffling him. In the end, he simply shrugged, delightfully oblivious as always.

He stared at Tiamat as she made up the most bizarre excuses for not going to Korriban. He wasn’t very good at hiding his expressions, and his raised eyebrow and slightly slack jaw would very clearly illustrate how much he believed she was full of shit. Altair said nothing on the topic, though he was internally thoroughly amused. He listened intently as she spoke about Dantooine, looking more and more interested.

“Oh yeah,” Altair said, “Apparently there are some fields of corn where spooky orphan children roam around sometimes,” He said matter of factly, mainly to see Tiamat’s reaction. It was an urban legend, but something told him she was spooked easy, and he would never ease off with that little knowledge.

He threw back the rest of his pop and rose to stand, “Aight, bet!” He said cheerfully, “Let’s go!”

@GABA @Altaris @Arcangel @Mr. Teatime @Vicc125

 

[Maerae Verdan]

"I understand."

That was all Maerae allowed herself to say, as Tiamat bid that she finish her education on Dromund Kaas. Though, it did frustrate her immensely. Dromund Kaas was the reason she was in this predicament in the first place: there was so much that she didn't know, so much that she didn't know that she didn't know. She'd never been instructed on things like hypergates, hadn't even known that they existed until today.

But she wasn't foolish enough to challenge Tiamat's instructions.

Instead, she finished her vegetable pizza, miring herself in frustration. This was her one chance to learn something beyond the watered down education the academy offered her. To take her first steps to becoming more. Yet it felt like she was being hindered. Dromund Kaas bound her in chains, and dragged her back down every time she tried to reach beyond her station.

She let anger settle in her heart. It made her feel more whole.

Altair started talking nonsense about ghosts on Dantooine, and Maerae wanted to groan. Then Lord Tiamat spoke up, and supported his claims. She was still suspicious, as these stories sounded like children's tales to her. Even so, anything was possible through the Force. Maybe there was truth to be found in ghost stories.

"I suppose I'd prefer ghosts over tuk'ata."

@GABA @Sreeya @Altaris @Arcangel @Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

Soleil didn't really get the whole blue cheese thing since he avoided dairy most of the time. He liked cheese and all, but Wreans didn't exactly get it under the sea.

{encil scratching away away, his eyes regularly came up from the page to look at the other people around the table. Sol's expression was mixed between skeptical and understanding when he heard Tiamat's reasons. Korriban's hot, dry climate was uncomfortable for the Wrean acolyte, but he'd still put up with it for adventure. It wasn't that awful.

His attention was soon pulled to the shots fired between Ailis and Vahliri, gaze flicking between the two of them. He gave an amused smirk at Ailis' jabbing banter. His lips bent wryly after Vahliri's ruder reply, though. Was she really gonna imply Ailis' tunic wasn't cute after openly talking up Altair's slick-looking armor earlier? No wonder the Tiefling dude got a meat-lover's pizza since he was used to having all this tasteless beef.

<Ignore her. She's on too much pumpkin spice.> he signed light-heartedly to Ailis. She looked great in uniform, plus it stood out and seemed generally practical. While what Vahliri liked wearing was appealing, Sol'd yet see an appeal to her high-horse attitude.

Sol eagerly next turned his attention back to adventure talk. There was discussion of Dantooine and a bit of what sounded like failed bootlicking. He figured Maerae might be one of those old-fashioned "please step on me my lord uwu" types and cringed a little.

After Altair's a further moment, Sol lightly slapped the table with an enthusiastic grin and held up a scrap of paper that just said I vote spooky corn orphans in large, semi-neat handwriting. Then he flipped it over on the other side to show a cartoony sketch of Altair, in full Imperial uniform as he was now. With a determined expression, the Tiefling was absolutely launching Chucky with a football quarterback-worthy kick into a lazily-drawn cardboard box marked "$FOR SALE$".

@GABA @Altaris @Arcangel @Sreeya @Vicc125

 

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri glanced towards Tiamat when the senior Sith spoke up once again, raising a brow every-so-slightly at her denial of a Korriban trip and subsequent suggestion of traveling to Dantooine. Sure, it wasn’t some ancient Sith Lord’s tomb, but it certainly sounded haunted enough for their desired expedition.

The half-Anfynn’s gaze proceeded to flick over to Altair when the Tiefling spoke up, unable to help but blink a few times.

“Wait, there are damn corn children?” She couldn’t help but ask. Of course, the Acolyte was completely oblivious to the urban legend and took what Altair was saying entirely seriously. She narrowed her eyes for a few moments. “Alright fuck it, I’m in.”

She flashed the Tiefling a confident grin before her gaze flicked across the table - fixating back onto Ailis and Sol just in time to catch the Wrean’s signing at the fellow Acolyte. She couldn’t help the way her expression immediately soured - eyes narrowing into harsh slits upon the mute Acolyte. Was this bitch really going to try to put himself in the middle of the back and forth between herself and Ailis?

Vahliri didn’t bother verbalizing or signing any response to what Sol had said. Instead, the half-Anfynn opted to flash him a different hand gesture all together - pointing the middle finger of her left hand towards the Acolyte from across the table. For all of Sol’s signing, that was a gesture that everyone at the table would be able to understand.

The half-Anfynn rolled her eyes a bit, looking back to Altair after a few moments. “Huh. I didn’t realize that Ailis and Sol were a thing,” She nudged him, Given the way that the Wrean aggressively leapt to Ailis’ defense and complimented her at every opportunity, it wasn’t really a difficult inference to make.

Vahliri finally looked back at Tiamat. “Cross my fingers that you have another awesome Hypergate to get us to Dantooine?” She smiled as she rose to her feet, very much hoping this wasn’t about to be another long-ass trip through hyperspace.

@Sreeya @Mr. Teatime @Arcangel @Vicc125 @GABA

 

[Altair Din]

Altair saw the drawing and actually began to chuckle, “Dude you got some skills,” He said, his brows raising “Didn’t know I had such a nice ass,” He said with a grin as he checked out the cartoon version of himself. He was preparing to leave as the girls had yet another exchange, this one with Vahliri throwing some daggers back. The tiefling chose to ignore it, focusing on leaving for Dantooine. He was vaguely aware of Sol abruptly reacting in the middle of it. None of it mattered until Vahliri made the quip about Ailis and Sol being a thing.

The smile and the good natured demeanor Altair had evaporated instantly. However, his gaze flicked over to Ailis, his eyes narrowing. A lot of it began to make sense - how Sol had excitedly greeted her, how he hung around her so much and jumped into the drama. Altair was also reminded of how Ailis said she always hurt anyone she had gotten close to. Was this another case of that? Was she dating Sol while stepping out on him with Altair? The tiefling’s jaw tightened. Altair may not have liked Sol too much, but he would never stoop as low as to hook up with another dude’s girl. The thought enraged him, his fingers curling to fists as his nostrils flared. The tip of his tail flicked back and forth in agitation. Ailis would have seen his body language enough to know he was furious.

However, he said nothing about it, simply spinning on his heel and walking out to wait outside for the others until they were ready to leave.

@Mr. Teatime @Altaris @Arcangel

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Children who lived in corn? Tiamat already was suspicious of children to begin with, they were impulsive, a bit gross, sometimes too smart, and they were non-stop energy. Then to couple it with living in cornfields...Tiamat starred at Altair, a glare slowly forming as he would even suggest such a thing would exist. However, it was clear that the idea of going somewhere spooky encouraged participation from the acolytes. Sol held up a picture of Altair punting a possessed doll and she gave him an unamused look, though what seemed to grab the woman's attention was the the triangulation of drama occurring between Ailis, Vahl and now Sol, and then Altair looked as though he were punched in the gut and dismissed himself outside.

Okay....

Tiamat quickly grabbed a slice of pizza and inhaled it, finding the teen dialogue Awkward...

Vahl made her quip about Sol and Ailis and Tiamat abruptly stood up, hearing something about the hypergates as though she had said nothing significant just moments earlier. She slapped down credits to cover for all the food and left the restaurant, taking the acolytes back to the Taris academy.

__________​

Dantooine

No hypergate jump for the students and resorted to using a small freighter to fit every onboard. Tiamat didn't want to risk getting stranded in the abandoned village and then having all her worst (ir)rational fears coming true with spooky legends, and now corn children. She would be lying to herself if she wasn't thinking about this the entire trip to Dantooine, but she was more focused on trying to listen for anymore spats between the acolytes in case she did need to step in and have them stand in corners.

The ship landed just outside the thousand-year old colony, the buildings were weathered down by time and the elements, but some of the stone homes and important sanctuaries seemed to challenge natural physics and time. Around the village was a thick forest that backed until the base of large rocky hills. Luckily they had arrived early evening, the sun would be in the sky for a few more hours and hopefully for long enough time for the acolytes to see what they wanted to see and they could be on their way before the sun fully set.

Tiamat lead the way into the village, silent as she allowed her senses to feed her while the acolytes were able to freely explore within reason.

@Sreeya @Mr. Teatime @Arcangel @Vicc125 @Altaris

 

[Maerae Verdan]

The teenagers were starting to irritate her.

She knew that she couldn't judge much: she'd been a teenager just last year herself. But she didn't recall being catty and petty with her fellow acolytes. Sure, there were some people on Dromund Kaas that she didn't like. Even some that she'd like bury. But whatever was going on between the human girl and the (Annfyn? Sephi? Maerae wasn't sure.) alien girl was just... childish.

But she held her tongue regardless. Merely because she had no interest in finding herself in the center of a catfight. She'd rather deal with the "ghosts." So, she'd spent her time on the freighter in meditation. Admittedly, Maerae was a little disappointed that Lord Tiamat didn't let them go through the hypergate again, but she wasn't one to question her betters.

Even if her better thought that "corn children" were real.

The abandoned colony on Dantooine didn't much impress Maerae. She'd seen plenty of tombs and ruins on Korriban. This was just the same, but in the plains instead of a wasteland. She certainly didn't see anything to confirm the presence of ghosts. This entire trip was silly, Maerae thought, but it beat staying in the Academy back on Dromund Kaas.

Bored, she took it upon herself to approach the horned acolyte (@Sreeya ), "tell me, Altair, how much faith do you put in this story about "corn children" and how they're supposed to haunt here?"

@GABA @Altaris @Arcangel @Mr. Teatime

 

[Darth Tempest]

Even as she asked that hopeful question of Tiamat, Vahliri didn’t miss the sudden demeanor shift from Altair. Her honeyed eyes inevitably flicked back to the Tiefling, unable to help but blink a few times at the sudden change. She clearly noted the way his fists curled and nostrils flared, alongside the way that tip of his tail flicked with irritation.

She saw all the signs that the Tiefling was furious, and yet the half-Anfynn quickly realized that none of his anger was directed at her. Instead, Vahliri couldn’t help but allow her eyes to flick across the table back to Ailis - to the same place where Altair was launching daggers of his own, but why? Was it what the half-Anfynn had said? Even if that was the case, she didn’t quite understand why that would enrage Altair the way it clearly did.

She allowed her eyes to linger on Ailis for a few more seconds before Vahliri glanced back over her shoulder as Altair abruptly turned on a heel and exited the pizzeria. She didn’t linger for very long after that - giving the table a quick once over before following the Tiefling out the door.

Much to Vahliri’s dismay, there was no advanced Hypergates technology used to reach Dantooine. Instead, the Acolytes were subjected to a long flight in a small freighter and Tiamat’s piloting skills. She found a seat and spent the majority of the flight scrolling through her datapad and shooting Ailis some not-at-all subtle side eye.

Vahliri marched down the ramp of the freighter a bit faster than was necessary once they landed on Dantooine, looking all-too-eager to be back planet side after witnessing Tiamat behind the controls. The half-Anfynn took a moment to survey her surroundings, glancing out towards the abandoned buildings just up ahead. Her gaze lingered on some of the stone structures in particular. “They seem.. In oddly good condition.”

She glanced back ahead, walking alongside the group as Tiamat led them forward. Naturally, she gravitated towards Altair once more - soon walking side-by-side with the Tiefling. Vahliri looked over her shoulder when Maerae when the Acolyte inquired about the corn children. “I dunno.. There is definitely weirder stuff than creepy-ass cornfield orphans out there in the Galaxy.” She shrugged. “But as our resident corn children expert, I think I’ll stick by you while we’re here.” Vahliri said towards Altair, giving the Tiefling a playful nudge of her elbow.

@Sreeya @Mr. Teatime @GABA @Arcangel

 

[Altair Din]

Altair was actually thankful for the trip in the ship instead of using the hypergate. This meant they had a solid way back, but also it allowed him to cool off from earlier. He was deep within his own thoughts and quiet the entire journey, but he was in better spirits by the time they landed. Already he could tell the air was cleaner and it reminded him a bit of back home. He could see fields in the distance and lots of open space that he never saw on Dromund Kaas.

The tiefling began to walk towards the village, looking around himself curiously. Altair was in his own thoughts when the Maerae chick addressed him. The slight look of surprise on his face was unmistakable though it disappeared quickly. Truth be told, he didn’t expect her high and mighty self to speak with him. Altair looked ahead to ensure that Tiamat was well out of earshot before looking back at her.

“It’s just a story,” He said with a grin, “None of it ain’t real,” Altair looked ahead towards Tiamat again, “But somethin’ tells me she spooks easy so I wanna play it up a bit,” He looked back at Maerae, “So you should play along,” He smiled at her before giving her a wink. He didn’t expect anything, of course, the woman seemed a bit too stiff to partake in any practical jokes or anything lighthearted. However, he would give everyone the benefit of doubt to start. Altair almost asked why she was not a Champion considering she was years older than the rest of the cohort, but he decided it was not exactly a kind question.

“I ain’t ever seen you before,” He said instead, “Where you from?”

Altair turned to Vahl when he felt her nudge, grinning at her, “You should stick by me anyway. I can be pretty intimidatin’,” His tail came up to playfully toss the back of her hair gently, lightly brushing against her back.

The tiefling shifted his focus back to Maerae for her answer.

@GABA @Mr. Teatime @Vicc125 @Altaris @Arcangel