[Pre-TL] At The Crossroads

Rom

Active Member
SWRP Writer
Rank
OOC Account

Joined
May 15, 2011
Messages
3,349
Reaction score
266
Standing before the bulkhead leading deeper into the station, Ariayla nervously pulled the strap of her bag tighter across her shoulder and glanced one more time back at the beat-up transport that had brought her from Castilon. The young woman had spent her entire life in the island villages of the oceanic world with familiar stars and landmarks and faces to guide her; here in this cold behemoth of metal and stone with passerby of every size and shape looking like nothing she'd ever seen before and light-years from home she could feel the tips of her lekku twitch and curl in fear.

For years she had talked about getting out into the galaxy and chasing the destiny she just knew was waiting there for her, but now that she was here all she wanted was to run back to her mother's boat and her father's workshop and salt-air breezes and speagull cries. It would be so easy to just turn around and go back to all she had known.

And that was why she couldn't.

Taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders, the young Togruta smacked her fist into the door controls - perhaps a little harder than necessary - and walked through the bulkhead into the unknown.

‐--------

At the heart of the station in an unused cargo bay lay the bazaar, a sea of pop-tents and bright stalls that stretched as far as she could see through the haze of cook-fires and station humidifiers working well past their expected capacity. Ariayla moved carefully through the crowd with her gloved hands stiffly held at her side and eyes half closed, a pained grimace marring her face; the flood of emotions from so many beings was like a meteor storm to her senses, smashing against her shields and trying to dig deeper. Fear, hunger, lust, joy, greed, angerragehatedespa...

Her cry of pain was drowned out by the enraged shouting of a Weequay stall-owner as a small hooded figure darted away through the crowd and vanished around the corner, his plight distracting others from Ariayla as she stumbled to the side and pressed her forehead and montrals against the cool durasteel wall. Gasping for breath she struggled to recall the lessons she'd read about meditation on the village holonet transceiver, trying to center herself mentally in the tattered remnants of her shields.

"Kriffing hells, why did I think this was a good idea?"
 

Phoenix

Story Admin
Administrator
SWRP Supporter
Rank
OOC Account

Joined
Mar 12, 2015
Messages
4,751
Reaction score
3,157
Talak hated this station. It was his fourth time here, and every time he came here it got underneath his skin. This place was a pit of evil, and not the kind of cold darkness he was accustomed to in the Force. Evil could be a means or an end: something used to accomplish a goal or a goal in and of itself. For those who lived and worked here their evil was simply pursuit of the base things in life. Greed, lust, and selfishness drove them, and little more. They had no goals beyond their own appetites, and it was revolting.

Talak was only here because one of his contacts insisted on meeting here every time. The Chadra-Fan was a snake with a gambling addiction, but he always had reliable information, which was what got Talak to this Force-forsaken pit of debauchery.

The darksider slipped the data fob into a pouch on his belt as his contact scurried away and started back for his ship when something else drew his attention. Amidst the pit of darkness and base emotions that seemed to cling to his skin, there was something else. It wasn't a beacon of the Light per se, but when contrasted to the swirling evils of this world it might as well have been a strobe light on a moonless night.

The irregularity alone pulled Talak's feet from his path toward his ship and back toward the bazaar. The reality was that for Talak, most Lightsiders were more interested in killing him than he was in killing them. They said that curiosity killed the cat, but in this case, the cat knew what trouble it could be walking into as he began to walk slowly around the many stalls, "perusing" their goods as he kept his eyes and senses alert to what he was really looking for. It's just curiosity.
 
Last edited:

Rom

Active Member
SWRP Writer
Rank
OOC Account

Joined
May 15, 2011
Messages
3,349
Reaction score
266
Shakily removing one of her thick gloves Ariayla ran her fingertips across the worn wax-canvas cloak her mother had given her when she captained her first fishing barge, the ghost of enduring pride and boundless love embedded into the fabric wrapping around her senses. Her fingers continued their half conscious path, tracing lines over the burnished metal of her bracers, a swell of her father's fierce protectiveness tempered by the confidence that she had the strength to protect herself filling her chest and burning away the cold weakness trying to suffocate her. The young Togruta continued, feeling the echo of emotion in the gifts and items she had gathered and using those emotions to steady herself and rebuild her shields.

A father's protectiveness, a mother's love, the joy of a little sister, and the cautions of a superstitious friend; a feeling of safety and home that she used to encircle her mind and bolster its walls.

Breathing easier, Ariayla pushed herself onto her feet and looked around nervously, hoping that her little episode hadn't been noticed. Flipping her hood over her montrals, the Togruta made her way back into the crowd of the bazaar after replacing her glove, most of her focus on keeping her shields tight rather than on where exactly she was going.

@Phoenix
 

Phoenix

Story Admin
Administrator
SWRP Supporter
Rank
OOC Account

Joined
Mar 12, 2015
Messages
4,751
Reaction score
3,157
Talak reached out with his senses into the crowd, feeling his way through the many minds gathered. The Force crept through men and women alike as he moved through the crowd, looking for what he was sensing. The waves of debauchery that he normally would have shut himself off from was now washing over him in full, and he felt filthy and stained. But for all his efforts, there was no sign of anything or anyone who looked like they knew the first thing about the Force. Of course there was always the possibility that they simply were skilled at disguising themselves, but that...

The thought was cut short as his eyes fell on something that drew his particular attention. The Force was emanating from... her? Leaning against a wall, radiating some cruel agony in the Force, he saw a woman who looked as if she were in some agony despite no physical injuries. So it was mental pain radiating through the Force. His eyes flicked over her quickly, and the first thing he noted was that she didn't look the part at all, but that may have been the point. Her casual clothes and satchel were enough to let her blend in with a thousand other travelers, but the way she touched the world around her. The way she felt flushed in the Force when he reached out to pluck at her mind. She was certainly more than she looked.

He considered biding his time and watching her, but he was feeling impatient, and if she were so off-foot then maybe this was the ideal time to make his move. The problem was he wasn't sure what his move was.

He had moved through the crowd quickly and was next to her a moment later. You scream in the Force, he said, not much for introductions and certainly not in public. If you're trying to stay hidden, it won't be hard for others to track you, he said. He realized that perhaps that was his "in." An offer of help.

Has anyone taught you to control that? he asked. He didn't even know entirely what he was volunteering to help her control, but it was clear as day that it was related to the Force, and that was all he needed to know.
 
Last edited:
Top